THE 



LAW OF GOD, 

AS 

CONTAINED 

IN THE 

TEN COMMANDMENTS, 

EXPLAINED AND ENFORCED. 

j BY 

WILLIAM S.'PLUIER, D.D.LL.D., 

AUTHOR OP "THE GRACE OP CHRIST," &C, &C. 

A 




PHILADELPHIA: 
PEESBYTEKIAN BOAED OF PUBLICATION, 
No. 821 Chestnut Street, 



"B W b 5 5 
,T55 



Entered according to the Act of Congress, in the year 1864, by 

THE TRUSTEES OF THE 

PRESBYTERIAN BOARD OE PUBLICATION, 

In the Clerk's Office of the District Court for the Eastern District 
of Pennsylvania. 



STEREOTYPED BY WESTCOTT & THOMSON. 



-Z^% 3 




CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER L 

PAGE 



Great Truths 7 

CHAPTER II. 

Law Defined . 11 

CHAPTER III. 

The Moral Law as given in Exodus and in Deuteronomy. 16 
CHAPTER IV. 

The Giving op the Law 19 

CHAPTER V. 

The General Character of the Law 25 

CHAPTER VI. 

Correct Rules of Interpreting the Law 32 

CHAPTER VII. 

The Uses of the Law 39 

CHAPTER VIII. 
The nature of the Obedience required by the Law 50 

CHAPTER IX. 

The place Good Works occupy in a System of Grace 57 

3 



4 CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER X. 

PAGE 

Salvation is not by our Obedience to the Law 63 

CHAPTER XI. 

Antinomianism 71 

CHAPTER XII. 
The Gospel does not supersede the Moral Law 81 

CHAPTER XIII. 
Detached Remarks 94 

CHAPTER XIV. 

The First Commandment 104 

CHAPTER XV. 

The Second Commandment 167 

CHAPTER XVI. 

The Third Commandment 237 

CHAPTER XVII. 
The Fourth Commandment 289 

CHAPTER XVIII. 
The Second Table op the Law. 343 

CHAPTER XIX. 

The Fifth Commandment 347 

i y . 

CHAPTER XX. 

The Sixth Commandment 394 

CHAPTER XXI. 
The Seventh Commandment 452 

CHAPTER XXII. 
The Eighth Commandment 510 



CONTENTS. 5 
CHAPTER XXIII. 

PAGE 

The Ninth Commandment 539 

CHAPTER XXIV. 
The Tenth Commandment 580 

CHAPTER XXV. 
How may we know our Sins ? 598 

CHAPTER XXVI. 
Christian Liberty 606 

CHAPTER XXVII. 
Conscience. — Rules for it 614 

CHAPTER XXVIII. 
Full Alphabetical Index of Subjects handled 631 

1 * 



THE LAW OF GOD. 



CHAPTER I. 

GKEAT TRUTHS. 

PT1HINK not that I am come to destroy the law or 
JL the prophets ; I am not come to destroy but to 
fulfil. . . . It is easier for heaven and earth 
to pass than one tittle of the law to fail. 

Jesus Christ. 

To obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken, 
than the fat of rams. Samuel. 

The law of thy mouth is better unto me than thou- 
sands of gold and silver. . . . A good under- 
standing have all they that do his commandments. 

David. 

The commandment is a lamp and the law is light. 

Solomon. 

He will magnify the law and make it honour- 
able. . . . The Lord is our judge, the Lord is 
our lawgiver, the Lord is our king. Isaiah. 

The law is holy, and the commandment holy, and 
just and good. . . . Do we then make void the 

7 



8 



GREAT TRUTHS. 



law through faith ? God forbid : yea, we establish the 
law. Paul. 

If thou judge the law, thou art not a doer of the 
law but a judge. . . . There is one lawgiver who 
is able to save and to destroy. James. 

Whosoever committeth sin, transgresseth also the 
law. John. 

If we have not the spirit of grace, the law comes 
only to convict and slay us. Augustine. 

If even for one day I fail to compare my heart with 
the law of God, I am sensible of a decline in my de- 
votional feelings. . . . If I give unto the law its 
proper definition, and keep it within the compass of 
its office and use, it is an excellent thing ; but if I 
translate it to another use and attribute that unto it 
which I should not, then do I not only pervert the 
law, but also the whole Scripture. Luther. 

The law is like a mirror, in which we behold, first, 
our impotence ; secondly, our iniquity, which proceeds 
from it ; and lastly, the consequence of both, our ob- 
noxiousness to the curse. Calvin. 

There was never so much matter and marrow, with 
so much admirably holy cunning, compended, couched 
and conveyed in so few words, by the most laconic, 
concise, sententious and singularly significant spokes- 
man in the world as we find in the moral law. 

Durham. 

The dignity of the name of divine laws is reserved 
to those which concern the duties of religion, such as 
the two fundamental laws [love to God and love to 



GREAT TRUTHS. 



9 



man] the Decalogue, and all the precepts contained 
in the Holy Scriptures about faith and practice. 

Domat. 

Two things there are, which, the oftener and the 
more steadfastly we consider, fill the mind with an 
ever new, an ever rising admiration and reverence ; 
the starry heavens above, and the moral law within. 

Kant. 

Ignorance of the nature and design of the law is at 
the bottom of most religious mistakes. 

John Newton. 

None but rogues and felons look at a law to find 
out how they may evade it. Hare. 

Of the law there can be no less acknowledged than 
that her seat is the bosom of God, her voice the har- 
mony of the world. All things in heaven and earth 
do her homage, the very least as feeling her care, the 
greatest as not exempted from her power. Both 
angels, and men, and creatures of what condition 
soever, though each in different sort and measure, yet 
all with uniform consent, admitting her as the mother 
of their peace and joy. Hooker. 

I am confident of it, and affirm boldly there is not 
one man made free by Christ, that makes it his rule 
to be bold to commit sin because of the redemption 
that is in the blood of Christ ; but that Christ who 
hath redeemed from sin and wrath, hath also re- 
deemed from a vain conversation. All that have the 
pardon purchased by Christ for them, have also the 
power of God in them, which keeps them that they 
break not out licentiously. Crisp. 



10 



GREAT TRUTHS, 



1 Though the moral law is not a Christ to justify us, 
yet it is a rule to instruct us. . . . The law of 
God is a hedge to keep us within the bounds of 
sobriety and piety. Thomas Watson. 

Those only, who obey the word of the Lord's direc- 
tion, shall enjoy the consolations of his love. Mason. 

If a man have not spiritual and just apprehensions 
of the holy law, he cannot have spiritual and trans- 
forming discoveries of the glorious gospel. 

COLQTJHOUN. 

The purity of the law appears from its forbidding 
sin in all its modifications, in its most refined as well 
as in its grossest forms ; the taint of the mind as well 
as the pollution of the body ; the secret approbation of 
sin, as well as the external act, the transient look of 
desire, the almost unperceived irregular motion. 

Dick. 

The divine legislator sees and knows the relations 
of things perfectly. He can draw no wrong deduc- 
tions from them. He can make no mistake. What- 
ever laws have certainly emanated from him are 
certainly right. Sharswood. 



LAW DEFINED. 



11 



CHAPTER II. 
LAW DEFINED. 
A LAW is a rule of action. Johnson. 

A law is a rule of action laid down or pre- 
scribed by a superior. Worcester. 

Law as applicable to human conduct in gene- 
ral, may be defined a rule of moral action pro- 
ceeding from a superior, having right to command, 
and directed to inferiors bound to obey. 

Edinburgh Review. 

Law is beneficence acting by rule. Burke. 

Law in its general and most comprehensive sense 
signifies a rule of action. Blackstone. 

A law is that which directs, prescribes, or controls. 

Stowell. 

That which doth assign unto each thing the kind, 
that which doth moderate the force and power, that 
which doth appoint the form and measure of working, 
the same we term a law. Hooker. 

The law is void of desire and fear, lust and anger. 
It is mens sine affectu, mind without passion, written 
reason, retaining some measure of the divine perfec- 
tion. It does not enjoin that which pleases a weak, 



12 



LAW DEFINED. 



frail man, but without any regard to persons, com- 
mands that which is good, and punishes evil in all, 
whether rich or poor, high or low. It is deaf, in- 
exorable, inflexible. Sidney. 

To every good law be required these properties : 
that is to say, that it be honest, righteous, possible in 
itself, and after the custom of the country, convenient 
for the place and time, necessary, profitable, and also 
manifest, that it be not captious by any dark sen- 
tences, or mixed with any private wealth, but all 
made for the commonwealth. St. Germain. 

The Moral Law is a divine, unchangeable rule 
given to man, and accommodated to his nature, as he 
was created by God, obliging him to serve to God's 
glory as his last end. Willard. 

The Moral Law is that which prescribes to men 
their religious and social duties ; in other words, their 
duties to God and to each other. N. Webster. 

The Moral Law is the declaration of the will of 
God to mankind, directing and binding every one 
to personal, perfect, and perpetual conformity, and 
obedience thereunto, in the frame and disposition of 
the whole man, soul and body, and in the performance 
of all those duties of holiness and righteousness 
which he oweth to God and man: promising life 
upon the fulfilling, and threatening death upon the 
breach of it. Westminster Assembly. 

A law, then, is a rule of binding force, given by a 
competent authority. It consists of two parts ; first. 



LAW DEFINED, 



13 



a precept or direction given ; and secondly ', a sanction 
annexed, consisting of good secured to the obedient, 
or of evil threatened against the transgressor, or of 
both of these. A law without a sanction may be dis- 
regarded at pleasure. It is no law. It is mere ad- 
vice. Blackstone: — "Of all the parts of a law, the 
most effectual is the vindicatory. . . . The main 
strength and force of the law consists in the penalty 
annexed to it." Promises of good, irrespective of 
law, are mere gratuities. Threatenings of evil, having 
no reference to law, are but arbitrary expressions of 
displeasure. 

The Hebrew word commonly rendered Law, occurs 
more than two hundred times. It primarily signifies 
instruction, then precept. In a few cases it signifies 
a custom or manner so established as to form the rule 
of procedure. , 

The Greek word rendered Law occurs in the New 
Testament nearly two hundred times. Primarily it 
signifies any thing allotted or apportioned, then a 
usage or prescription, then a law. 

It is not certain whether the Latin word rendered 
Law comes from a verb which signifies to read, be- 
cause, in Rome, the laws were not binding till they 
were posted so that they might be read; or from a 
verb which signifies to tie or make fast, because law 
is of binding force. 

In the Scriptures, the precise meaning of the word 
Law is varied according to the subject under con- 
sideration. In Psalms i. and xix., it is put for the 
whole word of God as then written. In Horn. vii. 23, 
it twice has the sense of a force governing our actions 
in our present sinful state. In Rom. ii. 14, it signi- 

2 



14 



LAW DEFINED. 



fies the law of nature. In John x. 34, and elsewhere, 
it signifies the Old Testament. In G-al. iii. 11, it is 
put for the works required by the law. In John i. 
17, and elsewhere, it is a name given to the whole of 
the Mosaic dispensation. In popular use in Christian 
countries, it most commonly signifies the Moral Law 
containing the ten precepts or words as the Hebrew 
expresses it. 

The law given from Mount Sinai consisted of three 
kinds of enactments: — - 

1. Ceremonial prescriptions and carnal ordinances. 
These were very numerous. All the times, and modes, 
and circumstances of public worship, and all the varie- 
ties of cases that could arise under a ritual the most 
minute are here ordained. If salvation by rites the 
most exact, and extensive, and Heaven-appointed had 
been possible, verily it had been by the Mosaic law. 
It far outdoes all modern devices. Yet it was power- 
less. It never made the comers thereunto perfect. 
Heb. x. 1. Indeed it was an intolerable burden. 
Acts xv. 10. It could not be endured. It has been 
wholly abolished. Acts xv. 28. And yet it had a 
shadow of good things to come. Heb. x. 1. Its 
typical representations of the Messiah were both 
numerous and instructive. It was abolished by being 
fully accomplished. 

2. Another part of the law given from Sinai related 
to judicial proceedings. It regulated commerce be- 
tween man and man. It provided for the establish- 
ment of justice, and for the punishment of crime. 
Some of its provisions, as the cities of refuge, had a 
typical reference. Some of them constitute a good 
part of the foundation of the municipal and judicial 



LAW DEFINED. 



15 



rules of all Christian nations. They are not, however, 
of binding force on us except as they contain the 
principles of right and equity applicable to all men ; 
or, unless they are incorporated into the laws of the 
state to which we belong. We are not living under 
the theocracy. 

3. The third part of the code given from Sinai is the 
Moral Law. Very often in Scripture it is mentioned 
by way of excellence as The Law. This is the great 
code by which men's thoughts accuse or excuse them 
before God, and by which they will be finally judged. 



16 THE MORAL LAW AS GIVEN IN EXODUS. 



CHAPTER III. 

THE MORAL LAW AS GIVEN IN 
EXODUS XX. 1-17. 

A ND God spake all these words, saying, I am the 
XjL Lord thy God, which have brought thee out 
of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. 

I. Thou shalt have no other gods before me. 

IT. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or 
any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in 
the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth : 
thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them : for 
I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity 
of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth 
generation of them that hate me ; and shewing mercy unto 
thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments. 

III. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God 
in vain ; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh 
his name in vain. 

IV. Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days 
shalt thou labour, and do all thy work : but the seventh day 
is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God : in it thou shalt not do 
any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy man-ser- 
vant, nor thy maid-servant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that 
is within thy gates : for in six days the Lord made heaven and 
earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh 
day: wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, and hal- 
lowed it. 



THE MORAL LAW AS GIVEN IN DEUTERONOMY. 17 



V. Honour thy father and thy mother : that thy days may 
be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee. 

VI. Thou shalt not kill 

VII. Thou shalt not commit adultery. 

VIII. Thou shalt not steal. 

IX. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neigh- 
bour. 

X. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt 
not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his man-servant, nor his 
maid-servant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is 
thy neighbour's. 

Forty years later, Moses rehearsed these command- 
ments to Israel, with slight variations, which in no 
degree affect our duty to God or man. 

THE MORAL LAW AS GIVEN IN 
DEUTERONOMY V. 6-21. 

I am the Lord thy God, which brought thee out of 
the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage. 

L Thou shalt have none other gods before me. 

II. Thou shalt not make thee any graven image, or any 
likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is 
in the earth beneath, or that is in the waters beneath the 
earth: thou shalt not bow down thyself unto them, nor 
serve them : for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visit- 
ing the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the 
third and fourth generation of them that hate me, and shew- 
ing mercy unto thousands of them that love me and keep my 
commandments. 

III. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in 
vain : for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his 
name in vain. 

2 * 



18 THE MORAL LAW AS GIVEN IN DEUTERONOMY. 



IV. Keep the Sabbath day to sanctify it, as the Lord thy 
God hath commanded thee. Six days thou shalt labour, and 
do all thy work : but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the 
Lord thy God : in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy 
son, nor thy daughter, nor thy man-servant, nor thy maid-ser- 
vant, nor thine ox, nor thine ass, nor any of thy cattle, nor 
thy stranger that is within thy gates ; that thy man-servant 
and thy maid-servant may rest as well as thou. And remem- 
ber that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt, and that 
the Lord thy God brought thee out thence through a mighty 
hand and by a stretched out arm : therefore the Lord thy God 
commanded thee to keep the Sabbath day. 

V. Honour thy father and thy mother, as the Lord thy 
God hath commanded thee ; that thy days may be prolonged, 
and that it may go well with thee, in the land which the Lord 
thy God giveth thee. 

VI. Thou shalt not kill. 

VII. Neither shalt thou commit adultery. 

VIII. Neither shalt thou steal. 

IX. Neither shalt thou bear false witness against thy 
neighbour. 

X. Neither shalt thou desire thy neighbour's wife, neither 
shalt thou covet thy neighbour's house, his field, or his man- 
servant, or his maid-servant, his ox, or his ass, or any thing 
that is thy neighbour's. 

Thus we have in two different books the whole 
Moral Lata. Its precepts are of two kinds ; some en- 
joining duties ; some forbidding sins. The fourth 
and fifth command certain things. All the rest pro- 
hibit certain things. 



THE GIVING OF THE LAW. 



19 



CHAPTER IV. 

THE GIVING OF THE LAW. 

I. r | IHE law was first given from Sinai two thou- 
JL sand five hundred and thirteen years after 
the creation. It is now, (1864,) three thousand 
three hundred and fifty-five years since this, code 
was delivered to mankind in writing. To those liv- 
ing previous to the time of Moses, many of its pre- 
cepts seem to have been pretty clearly taught by the 
light of nature, as indeed they are to all men. Paul 
says, "As many as have sinned without law shall also 
perish without law." Rom. ii. 12. Speaking of the 
heathen he adds, that " the work of the law is written 
in their hearts, their conscience also bearing wit- 
ness" to it. Rom. ii. 15. Doubtless also, much of the 
divine will was known to eastern nations, by revela- 
tions with which they were made acquainted from 
time to time, before and during the existence of the 
theocracy. Melchisedec, Job, and the wise men who 
brought their gifts to the infant Saviour, are illustra- 
tions of what is here meant. It has always been true 
that, " in every nation, he that feareth God, and 
worketh righteousness, is accepted of him." Acts 
x. 35. 

II. In giving the law, God exercised an unques- 



20 



THE GIVING OF THE LAW. 



tionable right. Every one's conscience says as much. 
Man is a creature. Surely his Creator has a right to 
direct him. In this very connection God claims uni- 
versal sovereignty, saying, " All the earth is mine." 
Ex. xix.~5. Calvin: "God asserts his authority and 
right of giving commands, and thereby lays his chosen 
people under the necessity of obeying him." Man is 
dependent. If he, on whom he depends may not di- 
rect him, surely none else can, and man is not fit to 
direct himself, for he is blind, foolish and perverse. 
That God is fit to be a lawgiver, it is blasphemy to 
deny. The act of God in giving this law is therefore 
no usurpation, no encroachment upon our rights. It 
is but controlling, regulating, and asserting his own 
sovereignty over that which belongs to him by every 
conceivable tie. Weak as men are, they claim the 
right of doing as they please with their own. Who 
can deny the same to God ? He is infinitely wise. 
None of his enactments are foolish or mischievous. 
In their operation they produce good only. Even 
the best temporal princes have erred for lack of wis- 
dom. To charge the same on God is atrocious wicked- 
ness. God is good. He has no evil designs. Ma- 
levolence is as far removed from him as folly. He is 
the most loving Being in the universe. Such a gov- 
ernor could not enact unrighteous laws. 

III. In giving the law, God delivered it not as 
counsel or advice but as law. The very form of 
enactment indicates this — " Thou shalt," " Thou shalt 
not," " Honour thy father," and " Remember the Sab- 
bath day." None but the perverse can misunderstand 
such language. Besides, God annexes sanctions to 
some of the precepts in immediate connection with 



THE GIVING OF THE LAW. 



21 



theni, and sanctions to the whole code in many gene- 
ral teachings of Scripture. These sanctions consist 
of rewards promised, and punishments threatened. 
AH, therefore, which could prove any writing to be 
a law in the highest sense of the term, is found here. 
Competent authority enacts. The enactment has 
all the form of statute. The statute is supported 
by adequate sanctions. Stowell : " Obedience and 
blessing, disobedience and a curse, holiness and 
heaven, impurity and hell ; these are the unalterable 
connections which constitute the sanctions of the law 
of God." ' 

IV. In giving a law, we should expect God to 
enact nothing dishonourable to himself. This is just 
what we find in the moral law. There is no objection 
to the assertion that this law is a transcript of the 
moral character of God. He is not dishonoured by 
such a remark. The law is worthy of its author. The 
glory which Jehovah gets from the holy angels arises 
from their conformity to it. A great end accom- 
plished by the gospel is the recovery of believers from 
sin to an agreement with the excellence of this law. 
In it there is nothing derogatory to the character of 
God. The only perfectly happy society in the uni- 
verse is that of heaven, where every member is wholly 
conformed to the requirements of this code. The 
only perfectly wretched community in the universe is 
that of the world of darkness, where every member is 
entirely opposite and contrary to all the provisions 
of this law. On earth bodies of men are found to be 
either happy or miserable in proportion as they are 
more or less conformed to this code, so far as it regu- 
lates their intercourse with each other. 



22 



THE GIVING OF THE LAW. 



V. This law was given amidst the most extraordi- 
nary displays ever made upon earth, or ever to be 
made until the last day. The Jews have a tradition 
that there were seventy thousand angels present at 
the giving of the law. This may he a very incorrect 
enumeration ; probably it is. The number may have 
been far greater ; for t£ the chariots of God are twenty 
thousand, even thousands of angels." The number 
present was probably "innumerable." Heb. xii. 22. 
We have the best authority for stating that the law 
was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator. 
Gal. iii. 19. The whole visible church of God on 
earth was also assembled around Mount Sinai on that 
occasion. 

The greatest of all was that God himself was there 
— God, who is a consuming fire, whom the heaven of 
heavens cannot contain, whose dwelling-place is eter- 
nity, and before whom all nations are as a drop of 
the bucket. Yes, Jehovah was there in the brightest 
robes of glory and the most august and overpowering 
tokens of divine majesty. " So terrible was the sight, 
that Moses said, I exceedingly fear and quake." 
Heb. xii. 21. If such was the effect upon Moses, who 
spake to God face to face, it requires no stretch of the 
imagination to conceive how terror must have seized 
the people. Ex. xx. 19; Deut. v. 5, 23-28. Nor 
was God angry with them for being thus alarmed. 
The sight must have been terrific. The poetio descrip- 
tion given by Moses is in these words : 

" The Lord came from Sinai, 
And rose up from Seir unto them ; 
He shined forth from Mount Paran, 
And he came with ten thousands of saints : 



THE GIVING OF THE LAW, 



23 



From his right hand went a fiery law for them. 
Yea, he loved the people." 

VI. The moral law was given in a way altogether 
peculiar. God never made to man in like manner 
any other communication. In the midst of the grand 
and awful appearances already alluded to, it was 
spoken by the Almighty in an audible voice from the 
top of Sinai, in the hearing of all the people. No 
other part of the law of Moses was thus uttered by 
Jehovah. Deut. iv. 33 ; v. 4, 22. Without any vari- 
ation it was also twice written on tables of stone by 
the finger of God himself. Ex. xxxii. 15, 16 ; xxxiv. 
1 ; Deut. x. 4, 5. The Lord would have it graven 
on a rock. These tables were long preserved in the 
ark of the testimony, covered with the divine glory. 
Ex. xxv. 16, 21 ; xxxvii. 1-9. Moreover, great pre- 
parations were, by divine command, made by the peo- 
ple for the space of two days together. They cleansed 
themselves and their raiment from all pollutions that 
they might come and stand before the Lord. Ex. xix. 
10, 11. Every man seems to have been anxious to 
make himself ready for that great and dreadful day 
of hearing the law ; a day more great and dreadful 
than ever any shall be, except that of judging men 
according to the law. 

Besides, a strict injunction was given them to 
beware of touching the mount, or offering to ascend 
it, — a fence was placed around it, which was not to be 
violated on pain of death. Ex. xix. 12. " If so 
much as a beast touch the mountain, it was to be 
stoned, or thrust through with a dart." Heb. xii. 
20. And even after God had descended upon the 
mountain, and the people had been brought out of the 



24 



THE GIVING OF THE LAW, 



camp to meet with him, Moses was again called up to 
receive a new and more imperative prohibition of the 
transgression of the appointed limits. "Go down," 
said God, "charge the people, lest they break through 
unto the Lord to gaze, and many of them perish. 
And let the priests also, which come near to the 
Lord, sanctify themselves, lest the Lord break forth 
upon them." Ex. xix. 21, 22. No marvel that our 
Saviour said to the Jews, " Had ye believed Moses, 
ye would have believed me." John v. 46. 

VII. At the giving of the moral law, it was not 
called by the name of the "Ten Commandments." 
Nor is it so denominated in any part of the Hebrew 
Scripture. It is more than once spoken of as the Ten 
Words. Ex. xxxiv. 28 ; Deut. iv. 13 ; x. 4. Yet the 
English version renders the Hebrew in these cases Com- 
mandments ; but the original requires it should be 
Words ; for we have not the word commonly rendered 
Commandments. Sometimes the Moral Law is called 
the Covenant, or the words of the covenant. Ex. 
xxxiv. 28 ; Deut. iv. 13 ; 1 Kings viii. 21 ; 2 Chron. 
vi. 11 ; Jer. xxxi. 32-34. Very often in Scripture the 
Decalogue has the name of the Law and sometimes of 
the Commandments. It is also often called the Testi- 
mony. 



THE GENERAL CHARACTER OF THE LAW. 25 



CHAPTER V. 

THE GENERAL CHARACTER OF THE LAW. 

I. f 1 1HE law of God is unbending, uncompliant, 
J- This is the~ nature of all law. The law of 
gravitation in nature yields nothing to circumstances. 
The good man and the bad man alike feel its force in 
the prosecution of their benevolent or nefarious de- 
signs. A law that would yield to the caprices of 
men would be of no service either to direct them or 
to set forth the character of the lawgiver. The 
divine law may be broken, but it will not bend. We 
could have no confidence in the unchangeable char- 
acter of God, if we found his law varying from time 
to time. He is a Rock, and his work is perfect. 
"I am the Lord, I change not." Mai. iii. 6. Do- 
mat : " There are no natural and immutable laws but 
those which come from God." 

II. The law of God is one and not many. There 
is no conflict between its several precepts. The same 
authority enacts, the same benevolence pervades, the 
same sanctions attend each commandment. It is for 
this reason that an apostle says, " Whosoever shall 
keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is 
guilty of all." James ii. 10. The law is a chain of 



26 THE GENERAL CHARACTER OF THE LAW. 



many links. Break which link you please, and the 
chain is broken. Hare : " All God's commandments 
hang together : they are knit and woven together like 
a fine net, wherein you cannot loosen a single stitch 
without danger of unravelling the whole. . . . There 
is no letting any one devil into our souls, without the 
risk of his going and fetching seven other devils 
wickeder than himself." Although, by its peculiar 
form, the law seems to require only a few leading 
duties and to forbid a few atrocious sins, yet even 
this arrangement is found to be useful. Calvin : 
"Anger and hatred are not supposed to be such exe- 
crable crimes when they are mentioned under their 
own proper appellations ; but when they are forbidden 
to us under the name of murder, we have a clearer 
perception how abominable they are in the view of 
God, by whose word they are classed under such a 
flagitious and horrible species of crime, and being in- 
fluenced by his judgment, we accustom ourselves 
more seriously to consider the atrociousness of those 
offences which we previously accounted trivial." 

III. The law requires compliance with its demands 
as obedience to Crod. It is not an accidental confor- 
mity to the letter of the law that will satisfy its 
claims. Men may avoid, for good reasons, the viola- 
tions of its rules of temperance, honesty, and truth ; 
but without any reference to the authority of the 
divine lawgiver. For their sobriety and uprightness 
they have their reward in health, thrift, and respecta- 
bility. Men find infractions of the commandments 
oftentimes inconvenient and troublesome. To avoid 
vexation they outwardly conform, but this is not obe- 
dience to Grod. In all this they are consulting their 



THE GENERAL CHARACTER OE THE LAW. 27 

own profit and advantage and not at all the glory of 
Him who made them. 

Domat : " It is for God himself that God has made 
man. It is that he may know him, that he has given 
him an understanding ; it is that he may love him, 
that he has given him a will ; and it is by the ties of 
this knowledge, and of this love, that he would have 
men to unite themselves to him, that they may find 
in him their true life." This makes them like God. 

IY. The law comprehends all conceivable moral 
acts. " Thy commandment is exceeding broad." 
Ps. cxix. 96. It enjoins all duties, binding on any 
rational creature. There is no form of sin which it 
does not forbid. Scott : " The breadth of the com- 
mandment shows the scantiness of man's best righte- 
ousness, and recommends the righteousness of the 
Redeemer, as alone commensurate with its holy and 
extensive requirements." All admit that the law of 
God extends to overt acts. The great error of many 
is that here they stop. Nor can it be denied that the 
law claims to regulate our speech. What would a 
rule of moral conduct be worth if it allowed all men 
the unbridled use of their tongues ? " The tongue is 
a fire, a world of iniquity." James iii. 6. The law 
goes further. It prohibits all wicked thoughts. It 
is spiritual. Rom. vii. 14. Calvin : " If a king pro* 
hibits by an edict, adultery, murder, or theft, no man, 
I confess, will be liable to the penalty of such a law, 
who has only conceived in his mind a desire to commit 
adultery, murder, or theft, but has not perpetrated 
either of them; because the superintendence of a 
mortal legislator extends only to the external conduct, 
and his prohibitions are not violated unless the crimes 



28 THE GENERAL CHARACTER OF THE LAW. 



be actually committed. But God, whose eye nothing 
escapes, and who esteems not so much the external 
appearance as the purity of the heart, in the pro- 
hibition of adultery, murder, and theft, comprises the 
prohibition of lust, wrath, hatred, coveting what be- 
longs to another, fraud, and every similar vice. For, 
being a spiritual legislator, he addresses himself to 
the soul as much as to the body. . . . Human 
laws are satisfied, when a man abstains from external 
transgression. But on the contrary, the divine law 
being given to our minds, the proper regulation of 
them is the principal requisite to a righteous obser- 
vance of it." The moral law enjoins all those things 
which are honourable to God and profitable to man. 
It extends to the affections and pronounces unholy 
desires to be sin, and all pious longings to be pleasing 
to God. It regulates motives. It declares David's 
desire to build a house for God to be pleasing to his 
Maker. It declares worthless all the fiery and osten- 
tatious zeal of Jehu for the reformation of the true 
religion. The heart is the very centre of its dominion. 
The state of men's spirits no less than the actions of 
their lives falls under its precepts. Wickedness con- 
ceived is as truly an offence against its righteousness as 
wickedness acted out. " The thought of foolishness 
is sin." _A malicious feeling, like a malicious word 
or deed, an unholy conception as truly as a wicked 
performance, infracts its principles. " Man judgeth 
by the outward appearance, but the Lord pondereth 
the heart." 

V. The law is right. It is an unerring standard 
of duty. It is holy, just, and good. The Spirit of 
God is its author. Whoever is perfectly conformed 



THE GENERAL CHARACTER OF THE LAW. 29 



to it knows no sin. Whoever wants conformity to it 
in all respects is perfectly wicked. Whoever wants 
conformity to it in any respect is so far a sinner. 
There is no moral goodness but is here enjoined. 
There is no moral evil but is here prohibited. 
Whether men's hearts and lives agree with other 
codes is a matter of comparatively small importance. 
If they agree with this, no more is required. If they 
disagree with this, conformity to any other can do 
them no good beyond this life. Every thing in the 
moral law is " exceedingly lovely and desirable." 

VI. This law is of perpetual obligation. Some 
statutes expire by limitation. On their very face 
they are to be of binding force only for a term of 
years. But the law of God, as it has been the code 
of heaven ever since the creation of angels or men, 
so shall it be in the " dateless and irrevoluble ages 
of eternity." Sometimes a statute ceases to be bind- 
ing, because it is repealed by a competent authority. 
But God has never repealed a single provision of the 
moral law. Christ himself declared that his mission 
was not to set aside any of its enactments but to 
fulfil them. And long after Christ's ascension the 
apostles repeated in various forms the precepts of the 
decalogue as in full force. This law is unrepealed 
and unrepealable. Colquhoun : " The authority and 
obligation of the law of nature, which is the same as 
the law of the Ten Commandments, being founded in 
the nature of God, the Almighty Creator, and Sove- 
reign, and Ruler of men, are necessary, immutable, 
and eternal." It is making Christ the minister of 
sin, and his blood the justification of licentiousness, to 
hold that the gospel sets aside or relaxes the moral 
3 * 



30 THE GENERAL CHARACTER OE THE LAW. 



law. Having stated with great force the doctrine of 
salvation by grace, Paul says, " Do we then make void 
the law through faith ? God forbid ! yea, we establish 
the law." Rom. iii. 31. We have never seen the Ten 
Commandments aright, unless we have perceived that 
" the obligations under which believers lie to yield 
obedience to them are greatly increased by the grace 
of the Redeemer and the mercies of redemption. If 
the saints are obliged as creatures, they are still more 
firmly bound as new creatures to keep those com- 
mandments. . . . The great Redeemer gives this 
high command to all his redeemed : " Be ye therefore 
perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is 
perfect." 

VIT. This law, like its Author, is supreme. It 
admits of no rival code — no conflicting claims. With- 
in certain limits, father, mother, teacher, guardian, 
civil governments may and must be obeyed. But when 
they trench upon the authority of the statutes of the 
Lord, we can but set them aside. " We ought to 
obey God rather than man." Acts v. 29. Because 
God is greater than man, his commands override all 
others. God's supremacy establishes the supremacy 
of his laws. If He is over all, so are they. If He 
admits no rivals, neither do they. If any authority 
must yield, surely it ought not to be that of Heaven. 
If any claims may be deferred, those of the decalogue 
must not. Obedience to it may be threatened and 
followed by imprisonment, expatriation, confiscation, 
and crucifixion ; but still it must be rendered. 
Though all other governments be disobeyed, here is 
a government that must not be slighted. 

VIII. This law is in itself practicable. Man did 



THE GENERAL CHARACTER OF THE LAW. 31 



obey it perfectly until he fell from righteousness. 
His failure to obey it now is not chargeable to the 
law itself, but to his love of sin. A perfectly holy 
creature finds no difficulty in perfectly conforming to 
its requirements. It can be kept — it can be kept 
perfectly — it can be kept without weariness to its 
subjects. Though in the best of mere men on earth, 
piety is imperfect, yet the judgment of all the pious 
is, that the fault is their's and not God's. 

Duncan : " What a strong argument for the divine 
origin of the system of Moses is furnished by the ex- 
cellence of the moral precepts embodied in it ! In 
science, in art, in almost every thing of a merely 
secular kind, the Israelites were far inferior to many 
nations of antiquity; yet in the writings possessed by 
them we find views of the character of God, and of 
the duty which he requires from men, immeasurably 
superior to those which prevailed among the most in- 
telligent contemporary nations — nay, to those which 
are contained in the writings of the wisest philoso- 
phers of Greece or Rome. This fact cannot be ex- 
plained on any other principle than that stated by the 
Psalmist : i The Lord made known his ways unto 
Moses, his acts unto the children of Israel. He 
sheweth his word unto Jacob, his statutes and his 
judgments unto Israel. He hath not dealt so with 
any nation ; and as for his judgments they have not 
known them.' " 



32 CORRECT RULES OF INTERPRETING THE LAW. 



CHAPTER VI. 
CORRECT RULES OF INTERPRETING THE LAW. 

EVERY document is to be explained according to its 
nature and design. As the law of God is spiritual, 
and the intention of giving it was the promotion of 
the divine glory, it becomes a matter of great import- 
ance that we rightly understand it. An error here 
may be fatal. By rules of interpretation, let no one 
understand so much a reference to the mere words of 
the law as to the general scope of the whole; and yet 
the sense, of course, is not to be learned without a 
correct grammatical construction of the words in 
which it is delivered. Let these rules be heeded. 

I. Although no two commandments are precisely 
the same, yet it frequently occurs that one and the 
same thing, in different aspects, is required or for- 
bidden in several commandments. Thus the eighth 
commandment says, "Thou shalt not steal," and the 
tenth says, a Thou shalt not covet." Now though 
there may be covetousness without actual stealing, 
yet there cannot be actual stealing without covetous- 
ness. So both these commandments virtually forbid 
us to lust after that which belongs to another. In 
like manner, covetousness often leads to Sabbath- 
breaking and thus the fourth commandment often 



CORRECT RULES OF INTERPRETING THE LAW. 33 

forbids the same sin as the tenth. And as the third 
commandment requires the reverent use of God's 
name, and as the right observance of the fourth com- 
mandment greatly promotes the fear of God, so these 
two commandments thus far enjoin the same thing. 
Colquhoun: "The first commandment is so closely 
connected with all the other precepts, that it is obeyed 
in all our obedience, and disobeyed in all our disobe- 
dience. Obedience or disobedience to it is virtually 
obedience or disobedience to the whole law." 

II. Where a duty is commanded, the contrary sin 
is forbidden : and where a sin is forbidden, the con- 
trary duty is commanded; and where a promise to the 
obedient is annexed, the contrary threatening to the 
disobedient is included ; and where a threatening 
against the transgressor is annexed, the contrary 
promise to the obedient is implied. Colquhoun: 
" The duties required in the law cannot be performed, 
without abstaining from the sins forbidden in it; and 
the sins forbidden cannot be avoided, unless the con- 
trary duties be performed. We must not only cease 
to do what the commands forbid, but do what they 
require ; otherwise we do not obey them sincerely. A 
negative holiness is far from being acceptable to God. 
Every affirmative precept includes a negative one, 
and every negative command contains an affirm- 
ative." Thus the fifth commandment requires us 
to honour father and mother. Of course it forbids 
every act of disrespect to them. The eighth com- 
mandment, which forbids the sin of stealing, requires 
us to do all within our power to promote the temporal 
welfare of our fellow men. So also the promise of 
long life, affixed to the obeying of the fifth command- 



34 CORRECT RULES OF INTERPRETING THE LAW. 



merit, clearly implies the opposite curse upon those 
who disregard it. And the threatening annexed to 
the third commandment clearly implies that the oppo- 
site promise is made to the reverent and holy use of 
God's name. Had all sins and duties, all promises 
and threatenings been fully and formally expressed, 
the law would have become cumbrous ; whereas, now 
it is easily remembered even by a child. 

III. That which is forbidden in this law of God is 
never to be done, be the perils, or pains, or penalties 
never so great. No circumstances can excuse, much 
less justify transgression. Sin is always wicked. 
Disregard of any prohibition is always criminal. 
Between two natural evils we are often compelled to 
choose, as between the amputation of a limb and 
death. But between two moral evils we are never 
compelled to choose. He who steals may indeed be 
strongly tempted to lie ; but the strength of the tempta- 
tion does not justify falsehood. With every tempta- 
tion there is a way of escape. It is not wicked to be 
punished for stealing, but it is wicked to lie about 
anything. "Let no man say when he is tempted, I 
am tempted of God : for God cannot be tempted with 
evil, neither tempteth he any man." James i. 13. 
There is no excuse for sinning even in the least. 

IV. That which God commands is always our duty ; 
and yet every particular duty is not to be done at all 
times. There is an order in our duties. Every thing 
is beautiful in its season. It is a duty to be tender- 
hearted, and to weep with those that weep ; but it is 
not a duty to weep with those that are properly re- 
joicing. It is right to think upon God's name, and 
the habits of one's mind may be pleasing to God. 



CORRECT RULES OF INTERPRETING THE LAW. 35 

Yet our minds may be intently occupied for hours in 
a mathematical demonstration, so that we cannot have 
them turned to anything else. We are to do our 
duties as we have opportunity. We should always be 
in a right state of mind and heart to do what is re- 
quired, if the occasion offers. 

V. "Under one sin or duty, all of the same kind 
are forbidden or commanded; together with all the 
causes, means, occasions and appearances thereof, and 
provocations thereunto." Thus the prohibition to use 
God's name in vain forbids an irreverent use of his 
word, or works, or sacraments, or worship; because 
his name is that whereby he is known. Thus the 
commandment to honour father and mother obliges us 
to honour magistrates, who are politically our fathers ; 
and masters and mistresses, who are domestically our 
parents ; and teachers, who for the purposes of educa- 
tion are as parents to us. And as we may not kill, 
so we may not prepare to kill, nor indulge envy, 
hatred, wrath, nor any malice; nor may we use 
quarrelsome, abusive, or contemptuous language, nor 
violent and threatening gestures as these things do 
often lead to murder. When God forbade the use of 
leavened bread during the passover, he mercifully 
forbade the keeping of leaven in the house. " They 
who do always all that they lawfully may, will some- 
times do more." 

VI. What is forbidden or commanded to us, we are 
bound, according to our places, to do all that we 
properly can to cause to be avoided or performed by 
others, according to the duty of their places. In the 
fourth commandment, this is expressly stated to be 
the rule. In other parts of Scripture, the principle is 



36 CORRECT RULES OF INTERPRETING THE LAW. 



applied to the whole round of our duties. What a 
man may not lawfully do himself, he may not lawfully 
aid, counsel, countenance, or encourage others in 
doing. What a man is obliged to do himself, he 
ought to aid, teach, counsel and encourage others to 
do. We may not be partakers of other men's sins, 
by leaving them in ignorance of their duty, when we 
could teach them. 

VII. The aim, scope, and tendency of this law is 
holiness. The sum of it is, "Be ye holy, for I am 
holy," saith the Lord. This holiness is not the as- 
sumption of a peculiar appearance, nor submission to 
a round of ceremonies, nor a mere profession of reli- 
gion under any form whatever. The demand of this 
law is for rectitude in conduct, rectitude in speech, 
rectitude in thinking, rectitude in feeling. Holiness 
of heart alone is conformity to the law. This up- 
rightness must be loved, and so must God the law- 
giver, and man our fellow-subject. Therefore, a 
very important rule for interpreting any precept is to 
inquire what is its general scope and aim ? what does 
God intend to prohibit? what does he design to en- 
courage in the command? Domat: "For under- 
standing aright the sense of a law, we ought to con- 
sider well all the words of it and its preamble, if there 
be any, that we may judge of the law by its motives, 
and by the whole tenor of what it prescribes; and not 
to limit its sense to what may appear different from 
its intention." In interpreting human laws, there is 
a rule, Qui hcerit in Utera, hcerit in cortice, literally, 
He who sticks in the letter, sticks in the bark ; that 
is, he does not penetrate to the heart of the tree. 
There is another rule of judging of the nature of a 



CORRECT RULES OF INTERPRETING THE LAW. 37 



law : Noscitur a sociis : — It is known by its fellows. 
The meaning is something like this: if any of the 
precepts of the law are moral, they are all moral; if 
any of them comes to us with awful sanctions ex- 
pressed, they all have awful sanctions implied. The 
same rule is expressed by Domat: "Laws are inter- 
preted one by another." 

VIII. This law is never to be so interpreted as to make 
us cruel to our fellow-men. "I will have mercy and 
not sacrifice." Hos. vi. 6; Matt. ix. 13; xii. 7. 
The law is good, and works no ill to any. It is be- 
nevolent. It abhors all cruelty. In Scripture, God 
often declares his preference for justice, faith and 
mercy, above any attention to the rites of religion, 
although prescribed by himself; 1 Sam. xv. 22; Ps. 
1. 8-15 ; Isa. i. 11-17. 

IX. "Love is the fulfilling of the law." Rom. xiii. 
10. For this there is no substitute. Compare Gal. 
v. 14. Jesus Christ himself taught this same doctrine. 
When one of the Pharisees said unto him, " Master, 
which is the great commandment in the law ? Jesus 
said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with 
all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy 
mind. This is the first and great commandment. 
The second is like unto it y Thou shalt love thy neigh- 
bour as thyself. On these two commandments hang 
all the law and the prophets." So that no preciseness 
or uniformity of outward action can in the least degree 
take the place of heart-felt love. "Now the end of 
the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and 
of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned." 1 Tim. 
i. 5. In case our love to the creature or to life con- 
flicts with our love to God, we must still cleave to 

4 



38 CORRECT RULES OF INTERPRETING THE LAW. 

him. So teaches the Saviour : " If any man come to 
me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and 
children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own 
life also, he cannot be my disciple." Luke xiv. 26. 
Of course the hatred here is comparative and not 
positive. We are to love all things less than God. 

X. " The commands of the first table are not to be 
kept for the sake of the second; but the commands 
of the second are to be kept for the sake of the first. 
The worship and service of God are not to be per- 
formed out of respect to men; but our duty towards 
men is to be observed out of respect to God. For he 
that worships God that he might thereby recommend 
himself to men, is but a hypocrite and formalist; and 
he that performs his duty towards men without re- 
specting God in it is but a mere civil moralist." 
Willard: "God and our neighbour do not stand upon 
even ground, so as that these must divide our love and 
obedience between them; but though it may seem to 
be a paradox, yet it is a great truth, that God must 
have all our love, and yet our neighbour must have 
some of it too. God must have our whole heart and 
soul, and yet our neighbour must have our hearty and 
undissembled love." 



THE USES OF THE LAW. 



39 



C HAP TEE VII. 

THE USES OF THE LAW. ' 

11HE moral law does not bear the same relation to 
- men which it sustains 'to angels, and which it 
did sustain to man before his fall. Eternal life is no 
longer by our obedience to its precepts. To believers 
it is no more a covenant of works, By it, in the sight 
of God, shall no flesh be justified. Ps. cxliii. 2; Rom. 
iii. 20 ; Gal. ii. 16. To expect justification by our 
own works would be to supersede and render of none 
effect the work of our Saviour. We are not under 
the law but under grace. To oppose this grave funda- 
mental heresy of salvation by works is one of the 
chief objects of Paul in some of his epistles, and par- 
ticularly in that to the Galatians. 

Seeing then that the law is not to be put in the 
room and stead of our Saviour, what is its use? or as 
Paul expresses it, "Wherefore then serveth the law?" 
<xal. iii. 19. The answer is, 

I. The moral law is of excellent use as a rule of 
life. Its value in this respect is great. Its precepts 
are comprehensive, definite and easily understood. 
They cover all possible cases. They inform us with 
the utmost exactness what is right and wrong in 
action and in word. They go further. They trace 



40 THE USES OP THE LAW. 

sin up to its original fountain in the soul. They 
pronounce envy and hatred to be murder, covetous- 
ness to be theft, and forgetfulness of God to be 
atheism. This law is universal in its prescriptions. 
In all things it is holy, wise, and benevolent. None 
can be truly pious without consenting that it is good. 
Whosoever esteems any of its precepts grievous shows 
that his heart is still unregenerated. All pious men 
do sincerely and habitually desire to be conformed to 
this blessed code. Often and earnestly do they cry, 
" Oh that my ways were directed to keep thy statutes." 
Ps. cxix. 5, 10. "Teach me thy statutes." " Open 
thou mine eyes that I may behold wondrous things out 
of thy law." Ps. cxix. 12, 18. He who in the spirit 
of humility, carefulness and teachableness thus cries 
for divine guidance shall grow wiser than his enemies, 
shall have more understanding than all his teachers, 
and shall understand more than the ancients. Ps. 
cxix. 98, 99, 100; See also Micah vi. 8. The 
greatest grief of pious souls is not for poverty, or 
sickness, or slander; but because they either posi- 
tively transgress or come short of keeping the holy 
commandments. Such is their desire to be as pure 
as the law requires, that there is nothing which makes 
them so willing to leave the body and exchange worlds 
as the hope that in a future state, they will be wholly 
conformed to its righteous demands. The superiority 
of this law as a rule of life is exceedingly manifest in 
the particulars already named as well as in others. 
It comes to the conscience with a sovereign authority. 
The heart of man when not utterly insensate recog- 
nizes God's voice in all its precepts. 

Calvin: "The faithful find the law an excellent 



THE USES OF THE LAW. 



41 



instrument to give them from day to day a better and 
more certain understanding and to confirm them in 
the knowledge of it." 

II. The moral law is of excellent use in producing 
conviction of sin, and thus making men sensible of 
their need of a Saviour. "The law entered that the 
onence might abound," Rom. v. 20; that is, that it 
might be seen by us all how many and ill-deserving 
our sins were. Conviction of sin is not confined to 
unregenerate men, nor to sinners in the earlier stages 
of religious impression when a law-work is wrought 
on the heart. Important as this is, the law is not 
then laid aside as a means of conviction. To the 
close of life it continues to be of use to this end. It 
teaches us that we are not worthy to be called God's 
servants ; it shows that our strength to do that which is 
right is nothing. Colquhoun : " The children of fallen 
Adam are so bent upon working for life, that they will 
on no account cease from it till the Holy Spirit so 
convince them of their sin and misery, as to show 
them that Mount Sinai is wholly on fire around them, 
and that they cannot with safety remain a moment 
longer within the limits of it." "What things soever 
the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law : 
that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world 
may become guilty before God." Rom. iii. 19. By 
our early conviction of sin, we obtain some faint im- 
pression of the necessity of salvation by grace. By 
our subsequent convictions, we are led more and more 
to renounce all confidence in ourselves for righteous- 
ness ; and to see more and more our need of the per- 
fect righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ. There 
is no greater mistake respecting experimental religion 
4» 



42 THE USES OF THE LAW. 

than that which regards the work of conviction en- 
tirely done when conversion takes place. It is true 
that sometimes there are certain horrors of conscience, 
certain pangs of remorse, certain guilty fears and 
awful apprehensions of the wrath to come, which in 
an equal degree do but seldom afflict the soul after 
conversion. But these horrors and fears are no 
necessary elements of conviction. He is truly con- 
victed, who has a due sense that he is a sinner against 
a just and holy God; and that he deserves ill and 
only ill at the hands of the Judge of all. He may 
not expect to be punished. David was an experi- 
enced child of God, when he said of the command- 
ments, "By them is thy servant warned;" and ""Who 
can understand his errors ? clease thou me from secret 
faults." Ps. xix. 11, 12. One may have set his hope 
in God through Jesus Christ ; indeed, the more 
effectually he has despaired of helping himself, and 
the more completely he has cast himself on God in 
humble hope, the more proper and deep are his con- 
victions. This use of the law is much insisted on in 
Scripture. Paul says, "By the law is the knowledge 
of sin." Bom. iii. 20. And when in the same epistle, 
he had proven the utter impossibility of salvation by 
the deeds of the law, he adds, "What shall we say 
then? Is the law sin? God forbid." Bom. vii. 7. 
He then goes on to say how useful it had been to 
him. The spirit of his declaration is, that he never 
would have known what a poor, lost, undone, helpless 
creature he was, and that he never would have felt 
his need of a Saviour, and never would have fled to 
him for refuge but for the law. His words are, " I 
had not known sin but by the law; for I had not 



THE USES OF THE LAW. 



43 



known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not 
covet." Rom. vii. 7. In ancient times, schools had 
teachers to superintend their instruction. Besides 
these, there were pedagogues employed to go around 
and gather the children and conduct them to the 
school. It is probably to this latter office that Paul 
refers, when he says, " The law was our schoolmaster," 
[literally our pedagogue^] "to bring us to Christ." 
Gal. iii. 24. And as the pedagogue of old brought 
the child to school not only one day, but every day 
during the term, so the law brings us to Christ, not 
only when we first accept him but as often as we re- 
new our hold on him. T Watson: "The law is a 
star to lead one to Christ." The law shuts us up to 
the faith of Christ. It makes Christ precious to the 
soul. No man can esteem the redemption that is in 
Christ more highly than his sense of his own lost and 
ruined estate as a sinner shall rise. Tell me what a 
man thinks of himself, and I will tell you what he 
thinks of the Redeemer. Tell me what he thinks of 
the Redeemer, and I will tell you what he thinks of 
himself. Every believer is ready to say, "I was 
alive without the law once; but when the command- 
ment came, sin revived, and I died. And the com- 
mandment which was ordained to life, I found to be unto 
death. For sin, taking occasion by the command- 
ment, deceived me, and by it slew me." Rom. vii. 
9-11. So that "what the law could not do in that 
it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own 
Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, con- 
demned [or punished] sin in the flesh; that the right- 
eousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk 
not after the flesh, but after the Spirit." Rom. viii. 



44 THE USES OF THE LAW. 

3, 4. Why do the great mass of men feel so little 
interest in conversation, books and sermons which 
explain the way of salvation? Obviously, the reason 
is, they have no just view and sense of their deplora- 
ble condition. God's Spirit is indeed the Author of 
all true conviction of sin ; but in producing it, he leads 
the minds of men to understand the nature of the 
law under which they live ; and to see that their lives, 
words and hearts are wholly destitute of conformity 
to its requirements. If men saw these things as the 
truth demands, and as they will one day see them, 
the preaching of the gospel would be listened to in a 
manner far different, and with success far greater 
than we have ever witnessed in the world. Then 
salvation by grace through a Redeemer would be glad 
tidings of great joy unto all people. Listlessness would 
take her flight from worshipping assemblies. Eager- 
ness would mould the features of every hearer; and 
the swelling solicitude of each bosom would catch 
every whisper of mercy from the word of God as it 
was pronounced by the living minister. Let then all 
men study the law. Let them study it candidly, 
carefully, solemnly. There is a great Physician, but 
sinners will never go to him, unless they find out that 
they are sick. Let regenerate men also study the 
law. The more they know it, the closer will they 
cleave to Christ; and the more profound will be their 
humility ; and the better will they understand their 
indebtedness to Christ, for fulfilling its precepts and 
enduring its curse in their stead, and for their salva- 
tion. If a man loves God he will also love his law ; 
and what one loves he will desire and labour to 
know. "Christ's promise of ease and refreshment 



THE USES OF THE LAW. 



45 



sounds sweet after the thunderings and lightnings of 
Mount Sinai." Augustine: "The law gives com- 
mands, in order that, endeavouring to perform them, 
being wearied through our infirmity under the law, 
i we may learn to pray for the assistance of grace. . . 
The utility of the law is to convince man of his own 
infirmity, and to compel him to pray for the gracious 

remedy provided in Christ God commands 

what we cannot perform, that we may know for what 
blessings we ought to supplicate him. . . The law 
was given to convict you; that being convicted you 
might fear, that fearing you might pray for pardon, 
and not presume on your own strength." 

III. The law is of great use to believers in re- 
straining their corruptions, because it forbids sin 
and denounces the most fearful curses against those 
who love and practise iniquity. The very form of 
most of the precepts is suited to put believers on their 
guard. Goodwin : " Commandments in a negative 
form suppose the nature of man to run cross with the 
law." The soul says, why has God thus hedged me 
in, but that I may always see my peril and beware ? 
It is true that the great and habitually influential 
motives of Christians in aiming at a holy life are not 
drawn from the terrors of the law. God's people are 
controlled by something more exalted. The love of 
Christ constrains them ; that is, it bears them along. 
[Gr. auvexet]. Nevertheless, it is true, first, that while 
our motives must be evangelical, yet, even in Chris- 
tian obedience there is room for the entrance of the 
law. We are under law to Christ. We are married 
to him, but not to despise him. He is our husband, 
and, therefore, he is to be obeyed. Secondly, in cer- 



46 



THE USES OF THE LAW. 



tain states of Christian experience, when the wicked- 
ness of the heart threatens to become outrageous, and 
when nothing kind or tender seems to have the de- 
sired influence over us, when Satan comes as a roaring 
lion, when the fiery darts fly thick and fast, and our 
spiritual enemies become terrible, it is of eminent 
service to the child of God to be able to point to some- 
thing far more terrible, even the wrath of Jehovah 
and the lake of fire. So our Lord himself taught. 
Compare Matt, xviii. 7-9 ; Matt. x. 28 : Luke xii. 
4, 5. It is well for the poor persecuted, tempted 
soul to hear the voice of salutary warning : 6i Fear 
not them which kill the body ; but are not able to kill 
the soul ; but rather fear him which is able to destroy 
both soul and body in hell." 

And who can tell the power of the law over the 
hearts of men in general? Its chief aim and purpose 
in the world is not for this kind of power over the 
pious. Paul says, " The law is not made for a righte- 
ous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the 
ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for 
murderers of fathers, and murderers of mothers, for 
man-slayers, for whoremongers, for them that defile 
themselves with mankind, for men-stealers, for liars 
and for perjured persons." 1 Tim. i. 9, 10. The re- 
straining power of the law over the wicked is very 
great. Bad as they are, they would be unspeakably 
worse, but for its terrors. Luther : " The first use 
of the law is to bridle the wicked." 

IV. The law is eminently useful in teaching us how 
to regard afflictions and how to be quiet under them. 
Without just views of the law of God no man can 
have just views of his own ill-desert. Without a sense 



THE USES OF THE LAW. 



47 



of his criminality, will he not rebel and cry out, as 
Cain ? " My punishment is greater than I can bear." 
But let him see that he deserves all that has come 
upon him, and a thousand-fold more, and he will bow 
his head in profound humility, and, by the grace of 
God, will assent to the saying of the pious Jews re- 
turned from their seventy years' captivity : " After 
all that has come upon us for our evil deeds, and for 
our great trespass, seeing that thou our God hast 
punished us less than our iniquities deserve, and hast 
given us such deliverance as this ; should we again 
break thy commandments, and join in affinity with the 
people of these abominations ? wouldst not thou be 
angry with us till thou hadst consumed us, so that 
there should be no remnant nor escaping ? 0 Lord 
God of Israel, thou art righteous : for we remain yet 
escaped, as it is this day : behold, we are before thee 
in our trespasses : for we cannot stand before thee be- 
cause of this." Ezra ix. 13-15. Surely that must be 
a turbulent and unsanctified spirit which is not quiet 
when it remembers that our pains are lighter than 
our sins; that our sorrows are fewer than our 
crimes. Will not every pious soul be inclined 
carefully to avoid sin, when it sees that God is merci- 
ful and visits us not according to our deserts ? 
Surely in such a case the ingenuous soul must hear 
the voice of the Redeemer, saying, " Go thy way and 
sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon thee." 

V. The plan of salvation by grace in Christ Jesus 
is so arranged and ordered that obedience to the 
moral law sincerely rendered with evangelical motives 
meets a divine reward. Indeed, we know not that 
the spotless obedience of angels, who have never 



48 



THE USES OF THE LAW. 



sinned, shall be any more abundantly rewarded than 
the obedience of the just, who have been great sinners, 
but who have sincerely accepted the gospel and have 
honestly obeyed the law. 0 yes : in keeping the 
commandments there is great reward. It is true in 
this world. It will be true in the next. Nor will the 
deeply humbled soul be at all offended that the re- 
ward of his obedience is counted not of debt but of 
grace. He joyfully seeks the acceptance of his ser- 
vices in the same way that he seeks the acceptance 
of his person — through the mediation of Christ Jesus 
the Lord. The scriptural method of reasoning on 
this subject is this : " Wherefore we receiving a king- 
dom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, where- 
by we may serve God acceptably with reverence, and 
godly fear, for our God is a consuming fire." Heb. 
xii. 28, 29. Blessed be God ! The very lowest acts 
of obedience rightly rendered, even a pious wish, a 
holy desire, a devout thought, the giving of a cup of 
cold water in the name of a disciple, shall not lose its 
reward, though that reward shall be all of grace. Nor 
is there any contrariety between this and the glorious 
doctrine of salvation by the active and passive obedi- 
ence of Christ. The righteousness of the believer in 
his best deeds is not a justifying righteousness ; but 
it is a righteousness accepted of God and rewarded 
abundantly, yet graciously. It is a righteousness 
secured to him and in him by the very scheme of re- 
deeming mercy. Even the Old Testament teaches as 
much ; "I will sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye 
shall be clean : from all your filthiness, and from all 
your idols, will I cleanse you. A new heart also will 
I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you : 



THE USES OF THE LAW. 



49 



and I will take away the stony heart out of your 
flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh. And I 
will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk 
in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and 
do them. And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave 
to your fathers ; and ye shall be my people, and I will 
be your God." Ezek. xxxvi. 25-28. Compare Jer. 
xxxi. 33. " We know that the law is good, if a 

MAN USE IT LAWFULLY." 
5 



50 THE NATURE OF THE OBEDIENCE REQUIRED. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

THE NATURE OF THE OBEDIENCE REQUIRED 
BY THE LAW. 

PURE Christianity differs from every form of cor- 
rupt doctrine by the place it assigns to obedience 
to God's law. On this point the human mind loves 
error to such a degree that nothing but grace can cure 
its follies. While some teach that obedience is every- 
thing, that it is meritorious, and that by it we are jus- 
tified ; others assert that it is nothing ; that in the 
gospel plan of salvation there is no room for it ; that 
none is required, and that, if rendered, it is useless. 
Both of these are rank and extreme errors. Both do 
fundamentally oppose the truth of God. A total re- 
jection of the law will prove as fatal as a total rejec- 
tion of the gospel ; while a reliance upon the law as a 
method of justification is both a rejection of the gospel 
and an abuse of the law. 

Colquhoun : " Legalists teach that believers are 
under the law, even as it is the covenant of works : 
Antinomians, on the contrary, assert that believers 
are not only not under it as a covenant, but not under 
it even as a rule of duty. These two assertions are 
not more contrary to one another, than they both are 
to the truth as it is in Jesus." 



THE NATURE OF THE OBEDIENCE REQUIRED. 51 

That obedience to the law is required upon its very- 
face, and in many parts of Scripture, is evident to any 
candid reader. The form of enactment has been 
already alluded to. The following additional passages 
of Scripture are here given. 

" Behold, I have taught you statutes and judgments, 
even as the Lord my God commanded me, that ye 
should do so in the land whither ye go to possess it. 
Keep therefore and do them ; for this is your wisdom 
and your understanding in the sight of the nations, 
which shall hear all these statutes, and say, Surely 
this great nation is a wise and understanding people. 
Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, 
lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen, 
and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of 
thy life: but teach them thy sons, and thy sons' sons." 
Deut. iv. 5, 6, 9. " Observe and hear all these words 
which I command thee, that it may go well with thee, 
and with thy children after thee for ever, when thou 
doest that which is good and right in the sight of the 
Lord thy God. What thing soever I command you, 
observe to do it : thou shalt not add thereto, nor dimin- 
ish from it;" Deut. xii. 28,32, and parallel passages. 

WHAT IS THE OBEDIENCE REQUIRED ? 

I. It is personal. One man cannot obey for another. 
"The soul that sinneth, it shall die." "He that 
doeth righteousness is righteous." Though our personal 
obedience to the law does not justify us in the sight 
of God, yet it alone can justify our profession of 
love to him. The obedience which the Lord Jesus 
Christ rendered to the precepts of the law as our 
substitute was intended solely for the justification of 



52 THE NATURE OF THE OBEDIENCE REQUIRED. 



our persons, and in no wise as a substitute for our 
personal holiness. Scott : " The commandments are 
addressed in the singular number, to each person, be- 
cause every one is concerned in them on his own ac- 
count : and each prohibition implies a positive duty." 

II. According to Scripture the obedience required 
is to some command given by God. Ames : " The 
matter of obedience is that very thing commanded by 
God. ' ' Uncommanded observances, whatever sanctity 
they may seem to attach to us in the eyes of man, are 
of no avail in the sight of God. They are all con- 
demned in his holy word. Voluntary humility, will- 
worship, the dishonouring of our own bodies, the wor- 
shipping of angels, and abstaining from meats which 
God has created to be received with thanksgiving, are 
crimes in the sight of Heaven, and are marks of an 
apostate church. Col. ii. 18 ; 1 Tim. iv. 1-4. Of old 
we read of no worse state of the church than that in 
which the " fear of God is taught by the precepts of 
men." Isa. xxix. 13. "If ye be dead with Christ 
from the rudiments of the world, why, as though 
living in the world, are ye subject to ordinances, after 
the commandments and doctrines of men? Which 
things have indeed a show of wisdom in will-worship, 
and humility, and neglecting of the body ; not in any 
honour to the satisfying of the flesh." Col. ii. 20-23. 

III. The obedience required in Scripture consists 
not in mere outward acts of the body, irrespective of the 
state of the heart. According to Scripture no obedi- 
ence is acceptable to God, unless it is rightly intended. 
God may accept the will for the deed, but he will 
never accept the deed for the will. In fact his holy 
word pours its heaviest curses on those who merely make 



THE NATURE OF THE OBEDIENCE REQUIRED. 53 

clean the outside of the platter, while in their hearts 
they are ravening wolves, or sepulchres full of dead 
men's bones. Matt, xxiii. 25, 27 ; Luke xi. 39. This 
is perfectly right in God. No man would be willing 
to accept the most exact and respectful though heart- 
less politeness of a wife or child, instead of the warm, 
gushing affection which was his due. There is no dis- 
pensing with godly sincerity. 

IV. All obedience must flow from a principle of 
love. This is taught everywhere in Scripture. Jesus 
says, "If ye love me, keep my commandments. . . . . 
He that hath my commandments and keepeth them, he 
it is that loveth me : and he that loveth me shall be 
loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will 
manifest myself to him. .... If a man love me, he 
will keep my words. . . . He that loveth me not, 
keepeth not my sayings." John xiv. 15, 21, 23, 24. 
The mere legalist who trusts in salvation by his own 
righteousness is never the man to make great sacri- 
fices for Christ. He has no principle of love. He is 
performing a task, and his task is a drudgery. On 
the other hand, he who trusts in the merits of Christ 
alone, and has any just sense of his obligations to the 
Redeemer, gives much, gives all, and then wishes he 
could give more. The legalist has the spirit of a 
hireling ; the evangelical man has the spirit of gratitude. 

V. All obedience flowing to God is connected with 
godly fear. We will never obey unto all pleasing unless 
we bow to the awful authority of Jehovah. We will 
never keep his commandments unless we fear him. 
Eccl. xii., 13; Compare: Deut. vi. 2, x. 12; Ps. cxi. 
10 ; 1 Pet. ii. 17 ; Rev. xix. 5. In Deut. xxviii. 58, 
it is expressly said that we are to " observe to do all 

5 * 



54 THE NATURE OF THE OBEDIENCE REQUIRED. 

the words of this law that are written in this book, 
that we may fear this glorious and fearful name, 
THE LORD THY GOD." 

VI. All acceptable obedience must flow from a 
principle of living faith in the divine testimony, espe- 
cially respecting Christ. "Without faith it is impos- 
sible to please God: he that cometh to God must 
believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them 
that diligently seek him." Heb. xi. 6. "Whatsoever 
is not of faith is sin." Rom. xiv. 23. What made 
Abraham's obedience of such value as to be noted in 
Scripture, was the fact that he believed God even 
contrary to appearances. 

VII. The obedience to the law required of believers 
under the gospel must be evangelical ; that is, we are 
not to keep the commandments for the purpose of thus 
meriting God's favour, nor are we to render our obe- 
dience in our own strength; but by the assistance of 
the grace of God. All attempts to climb to heaven 
by the ladder of our own works must utterly fail ; and 
all our endeavours to keep the law in the strength of 
our fallen nature must no less certainly overwhelm 
us with disgrace. Colquhoun: "Heathen morality is 
external obedience to the law of nature, and may be 
termed natural religion. Pharisaical righteousness is 
hypocritical obedience to the law as a covenant of 
works, and is usually called legal righteousness, or 
the works of the law. True holiness is spiritual and 
sincere obedience to the law as a rule of life, in the 
hand of the blessed Mediator, and is commonly styled 
evangelical holiness or true godliness." 

VIII. All right obedience must be performed with 
a just sense of our imperfections. We must never 



THE NATURE OF THE OBEDIENCE REQUIRED. 55 

present our obedience before God as being in itself 
deserving of any reward. Jesus Christ greatly insists 
upon this. One of his parables is on this very sub- 
ject. " Which of you having a servant plowing or 
feeding cattle, will say unto him by and by, when he 
is come from the field, Go and sit down to meat? and 
will not rather say unto him, Make ready wherewith 
I may sup, and gird thyself, and serve me, till I have 
eaten and drunken ; and afterward thou shalt eat and 
drink? Doth he thank that servant, because he did 
the things that were commanded him? I trow not. 
So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those 
things which are commanded you, say, We are un- 
profitable servants : we have done that which was our 
duty to do." Luke xvii. 7-10. The proper spirit in 
which to commend our labours to God's favourable 
regard is beautifully exemplified in the life of that 
eminent young man, Nehemiah. He was the most 
distinguished patriot and servant of God in his day. 
With great intrepidity he rebuilt the holy city. His 
sufferings and trials were sharp. Having given a 
modest and truthful record of what he had endured 
and accomplished, he offers such prayers as these: 
" Remember me, 0 my God, for good;" "Remember 
me, 0 my God, concerning this, and wipe not out my 
good deeds that I have done for the house of my God, 
and for the offices thereof." But that we may in no 
case misunderstand his real temper, he has left this 
prayer also on record: "Remember me, 0 my God, 
concerning this also, and spare me according to the 
greatness of thy mercy." Neh. xiii. 14, 22, 31. 

IX. The obedience we render must be universal. 
God allows no eclecticism in this matter. "Then 



56 THE NATURE OF THE OBEDIENCE REQUIRED. 

shall I not be ashamed, when I have respect unto all 
thy commandments." Ps. cxix. 6. "What thing 
soever I command you, observe to do it: thou shalt 
not add thereto, nor diminish from it." Deut. xii. 32. 

X. Our obedience must be perpetual. "I will 
never forget thy precepts." Ps. cxix. 93. "Cursed 
is he that continueth not in all things written in the 
book of the law to do them." Stowell: "The 
authority of the moral law is founded in the perfec- 
tion of God, and extends over all the creatures whom 
he has rendered capable of obeying it while that capa- 
bility exists." 



THE PLACE GOOD WORKS OCCUPY. 57 



CHAPTER IX. 

THE PLACE WHICH GOOD WORKS OCCUPY IN 
A SYSTEM OF GRACE. 

I. A GREAT design of the gospel, so far as man 
XjL is concerned, is his restoration to holiness. 
Indeed, Jesus Christ " gave himself for us, that he 
might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto 
himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works." 
God " hath chosen us in him before the foundation of 
the world that we should be holy and without blame 
before him in love." And we are expressly said to 
be God's "workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto 
good works, which God hath before ordained that we 
should walk in them." Titus ii. 14; Eph. i. 4; ii. 10. 
So that election, redemption, and regeneration would 
all fail of their ends, if the subjects of them were 
not made holy. 

II. It is only by good works manifest and open 
that Christians can afford to the world satisfactory 
evidence that their principles are better than those of 
other people. The world will judge of men's real 
characters neither solely nor chiefly by their profes- 
sions, but by their practice. This is right. Words 
are cheap. Actions speak louder than words. That 
is a just challenge of the apostle when he says : 



58 THE PLACE GOOD WORKS OCCUPY. 

* Shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will 
shew thee my faith by my works." James ii. 18. 
Christ himself says to his disciples, " Ye are the light 

of the world Let your light so shine before 

men, that they may see your good works, and glorify 
your Father which is in heaven." Matt. v. 14-16. 
But if their works are no better than those of carnal 
men, they are of course subject to the rebuke, "What 
do ye more than others ;" and their lives can be no 
proof of the divine origin of their religion. In the 
early ages of Christianity one of the most difficult 
stations to fill well was that of a Christian wife, who 
had a heathen husband ; and yet that very position 
afforded an opportunity of holding forth the word of 
life to great advantage. See 1 Pet. iii. 1-6. To 
such Paul says, " What knowest thou, 0 wife, whether 
thou shalt save thy husband ?" 1 Cor. vii. 16. 

III. Good works are in themselves pleasing to 
God ; and for Christ's sake their imperfections are 
forgiven, and they are divinely rewarded. Accord- 
ing to Scripture, our happiness hereafter will in an 
important sense be proportioned to our works here. 
Our good deeds will not be the cause, but merely the 
occasions of our receiving great and astonishing bless- 
ings. Even the penitent thief, who died on the cross, 
and whose public confession of Christ was one of the 
most illustrious acts of faith ever performed, shall not 
lose his reward. In accordance with these teachings 
speak the Scriptures. "Walk worthy of the Lord 
unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work." 
Col. i. 10. "He which soweth sparingly shall reap 
also sparingly ; and he which soweth bountifully shall 
reap also bountifully." 2 Cor. ix. 6. " Say ye to 



THE PLACE GOOD WORKS OCCUPY. 



59 



the righteous, that it shall be well with him : for they 
shall eat the fruit of their doings." Isa. iii. 10. 
Colquhoun : " Though the law, as a rule of duty to 
believers, has no sanction of judicial rewards or pun- 
ishments, yet it has a sanction of gracious rewards 
and paternal chastisements." 

IY. God himself at the last day will determine 
men's characters by their works. " God shall bring 
every work into judgment, with every secret thing, 
whether it be good or whether it be evil." Eccles. 
xii. 14. Jesus himself said, " The hour is coming, in 
the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, 
and shall come forth ; they that have done good, unto 
the resurrection of life ; and they that have done evil, 
unto the resurrection of damnation." John v. 28, 
29. So says the last book of Scripture : " The dead 
were judged out of those things which were written 
in the books, according to their works." " They 
were judged every man according to their works." 
Rev. xx. 12, 13. Compare also Dan. xii. 2, 3, 
and Matt. xxv. 31-46. 

Y. As both our Creator and our fellow men will 
judge us by our works, so also ought we to judge 
ourselves. No man has any more religion than con- 
trols his practice. He whose life is holy has a holy 
heart. He whose life is wicked has a wicked heart. 
All this is natural and fair. If the tree is not to be 
known by its fruits, by what shall it be known ? If 
the fountain may not be known by the streams it 
sends forth, then we can determine nothing. "Be 
not deceived ; God is not mocked ; for whatsoever a 
man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that 
soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption : 



60 THE PLACE GOOD WORKS OCCUPY. 

but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit 
reap life everlasting." Gal. vi. 7, 8. We ourselves 
lay down the same rule in judging of our fellow-men. 
We marvel that a man, who, without subjecting him- 
self to penal consequences, has done all he can to 
injure us, should suppose himself possessed of no 
malignity. Those religious principles and actions 
which cannot bear this test are of no value. God's 
, plan is to subject all his people to severe trials, not 
for the sake of giving them pain, but to illustrate his 
grace and their character. So says the Psalmist. 
" Thou, 0 God, hast proved us : thou hast tried us as 
silver is tried. Thou broughtest us into the net; 
thou laidest affliction upon our loins. Thou hast 
caused men to ride over our heads ; we went through 
fire and through water : but thou broughtest us into 
a wealthy place. I will go into thy house with burnt 
offerings : I will pay thee my vows." Ps. lxvi. 
10-13 and onwards. So to Abraham God said, 
" Now I know that thou fear est God, seeing that thou 
hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me." 
Gen. xxii. 12. 

VI. Good works are useful to our brethren. 
" These things I will that thou affirm constantly, that 
they which have believed in God might be careful to 
maintain good works. These things are good and 
profitable unto men. . . . Let ours also learn to 
maintain good works for necessary uses." Titus iii. 
8, 14. 

VII. The Scriptures do clearly assert the necessity 
of good works to prove our acceptance with God. 
u Be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, de- 
ceiving your ownselves. . . . Pure religion and un- 



THE PLACE GOOD WORKS OCCUPY. 61 

defiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the 
fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep 
himself unspotted from the world." James i. 22, 27. 
" To obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken 
than the fat of rams." 1 Sam. xv. 22. " Whoso hath 
this world's good, and seeth his brother have need, 
and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, 
how dwelleth the love of God in him? My little 
children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue ; 
but in deed and in truth." 1 John iii. 17, 18. 
" Herein is my Father glorified that ye bear much 
fruit ; so shall ye be my disciples. Ye are my friends, 
if ye do whatsoever I command you." John xv. 8, 14. 
Every Christian grace is to be judged of by the life 
we lead. Thus the fear of God is to be estimated 
not according to the secret dread which his majesty 
creates, but by our holiness of life. " The fear of 
the Lord is to hate evil." The sincerity of our be- 
nevolence can be safely tested in no other way. 
James ii. 15, 16. It is only thus we can manifest 
our gratitude in a becoming way. Thus only can we 
be built up in a true assurance of eternal life. 2 Pet. 
i. 5-10. Thus only can we put to silence the igno- 
rance of foolish men. 1 Pet. ii. 15 ; Phil. i. 11. 

We are bound to maintain this view of the Moral 
Law and its obligations at all times and under all 
circumstances ; especially, let not the pulpit give forth 
a doubtful utterance on this point. There is a class 
of men who will accuse us of being Legalists, if we 
solemnly enforce duty. Stowell : " If by legal preach- 
ing is meant the faithful and fervid enforcements of 
these commands on every man's conscience as the 
standard by which he is to walk now, and to be judged 
6 



62 



THE PLACE GOOD WORKS OCCUPY. 



hereafter, whence we demand, the dread of such a 
style of preaching? Surely not from an enlightened 
regard to the honour of God ; we know nothing of 
that honour, but as we study and obey his law. 
Surely not from an enlightened attachment to the 
gospel: for we do not understand the gospel, but as it 
enlarges our conceptions of the divine law, and con- 
strains us to fulfil it." 



SALVATION IS NOT BY OUR OBEDIENCE TO THE LAW. 63 



CHAPTER X. 

SALVATION IS NOT BY OUE OBEDIENCE TO THE 
LAW. 

THERE are two capital errors respecting the law. 
One maintains that we are justified by it. The 
other asserts that we are under no obligation to obey 
it. The last of these will be considered hereafter. 
The first now claims our attention. 

The following things are made remarkably clear in 
God's word. 

I. All men are sinners. In proof of this propo- 
sition we have the unanswered and unanswerable 
argument of the Apostle Paul in the first three chap- 
ters of his epistle to the Romans. In the first chapter 
he proves that all the Gentiles are sinners. In the 
second, he shows that the Jews are involved in the 
same condemnation. In the third, he shows that all 
men indiscriminately have offended God, maintaining 
that, "There is none righteous, no, not one." This 
great argument is but the summing up of irrefragable 
statements found in all the Scriptures, and confirmed j 
by universal observation. 

II. Man is under a curse. The reason is because 
he is a transgressor. This was declared at the giving 
of the law. Moses said, "Behold, I set before you 



64 SALVATION IS NOT BY OUR OBEDIENCE TO THE LA 



this day, a blessing and a curse ; a blessing, if ye obey 
the commandments of the Lord your God, which I 
command you this day: and a curse, if ye will not 
obey the commandments of the Lord your God, but 
turn aside out of the way which I command you this 
day." Deut. xi. 26-28. "The curse of the Lord is 
in the house of the wicked." Prov. iii. 33. " The 
curse is poured upon us, and the oath that is written 
in the law of Moses the servant of God, because we 
have sinned against him." Dan. ix. 11. "Ye are 
cursed with a curse." Mai. iii. 9. "As many as 
are of the works of the law are under the curse." 
Gal. iii. 10. 

III. This is not the fault of the law. The 
Scriptures abundantly declare that the law is good. 
Rom. vii. 16; 1 Tim. i. 8. "If there had been a 
law given which could have given life, verily right- 
eousness should have been by the law." Gal. iii. 21. 
"The law was weak through the flesh;" Rom. viii. 3, 
not through any defect inherent in itself. 

IV. Yet justification by the law is impossible. 
It is often and expressly so declared. " By the deeds 
of the law there shall be no flesh justified in his 
sight;" "The law worketh wrath;" "Now we are 
delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we 
were held;" "Ye are become dead to the law by the 
body of Christ;" "Israel which followed after the 
law of righteousness hath not attained to the law of 
righteousness; because they sought it not by faith, 
but as it were by the works of the law;" "A man is 
not justified by the works of the law;" " If righteous- 
ness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain;" 
"That no man is justified by the law in the sight of 



SALVATION IS NOT BY OUR OBEDIENCE TO THE LAW. 65 

God, it is evident." Rom. iii. 20, iv. 15, vii. 4, 6, ix. 
31, 32. Gal. ii. 16, 21, iii. 11. 
V. The Scriptures reveal an altogether 

DIFFERENT PLAN OF JUSTIFICATION. They Say, We 

are "justified freely by his grace, through the redemp- 
tion that is in Christ Jesus." "The promise is of 
faith, that it might be by grace." "There is no con- 
demnation to them who are in Christ Jesus." "A man 
is justified by the faith of Jesus Christ." " The life 
which we now live in the flesh, we live by the faith of 
the Son of God." "The just shall live by faith." 
Rom. iii. 24, iv. 16, viii. 1 ; Gal. ii. 16, 20 ; Gal. iii. 
11 ; Hab. ii. 4 ; Rom. i. 17. This scheme of pardon- 
ing the guilty and accepting them as righteous through 
the merits of the Lord Jesus suits us exactly. Nor 
is this mere theory. It enters into the very life of 
religious experience. The Rev. Jotham Sewell says, 
" When I was not very far from twenty-one years of 
age, I read a sermon which exposed the insufficiency 
and folly of self-righteousness. I felt the force of 
the reasoning, and was convinced that I had been 
self-righteous. I resolved that I would be so no more, 
but would try to trust in Christ. I then thought that 
I had freed myself from this sin, though I had no 
idea that I was convicted. Not long after, in giving 
a reason for the hope that he was a Christian, I heard 
a man express the conviction, that, while in secret 
and in his family before conversion, he was hypocriti- 
cal and self-righteous. I thought with myself, shall 
I ever have to say as much as that man says ? I am 
not convicted ; but if I should be, whatever I may 
have to throw away, it will not be self-righteousness ; 
for I fancied that I was already free from that; so 
6 * 



66 SALVATION IS NOT BY OUR OBEDIENCE TO THE LAW. 

blind was I to my real condition ! I afterwards saw 
that I had made a righteousness of my resolution, that 
I would not be self-righteous ! So true it is ' that 
the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately 
wicked.' " In like manner spoke that godly minister, 
Owen Stockton, of Ipswich : " I find, that though in 
my judgment and profession, I acknowledge Christ to 
be my righteousness and peace ; yet upon examina- 
tion I observe that my heart hath done quite another 
thing, and that secretly I have gone about to estab- 
lish my own righteousness, and have derived my com- 
fort and peace from my own actings." Luther: "If 
I were able to keep the whole moral law, I would not 
trust to this for justification." 

To the truly pious and humble child of God, how- 
ever simple or youthful, there is nothing more un- 
pleasant than the suggestion of the wicked one or of 
ignorant guides that we can commend ourselves to 
God by our own works. A lovely young female, 
whose memoir has been printed, though not published, 
has lately departed this life in the triumph of faith. 
One of her dying testimonies was, " I would not like 
to think of my sufferings having any thing to do with 
my going to heaven, as a cause. If I ever stand be- 
fore God, it will be because Jesus Christ has redeemed 
me by his own blood — his ransom availed. God was 
satisfied — I am saved by him entirely." The best 
practical writers of all ages have warned men against 
seeking justification by the law. Charnock : " Affec- 
ting to stand by a righteousness of our own is natural 
to us. . . Adam was to have lived upon his 
own righteousness, in the state of innocence ; since 
we are fallen this relic of nature is in us to desire to 



SALVATION IS NOT BY OUR OBEDIENCE TO THE LAW. 67 



rise by our own strength. We would find matter of 
acceptance and acquittance in ourselves. . . . What 
pains had the apostle to work the Romans and the 
Galatians from their own righteousness. A desire of 
a legal justification is inbred. . . . An imper- 
fect righteousness cannot afford a perfect peace ; the 
righteousness of a sinful nature is not the righteous- 
ness of a pure law." 

John Owen: "Take heed of a degeneration into 
self-righteousness. . . . The way is narrow and 
strait that lies between the indispensable necessity 
of holiness and its influence into our righteousness. 

. . . The righteousness of Christ is utterly a 
strange thing to the best of unbelievers ; and this puts 
them by all means upon the setting up of their own. 
Rom. x. 3." 

Willard : " The fall hath utterly cut man off from 
ever obtaining life by the law, as a Covenant." 

John Newton: "It is not a lawful use of the law 
to seek justification and acceptance with God by our 
obedience to it ; because it is not appointed for this 
end, or capable of answering it in our circumstances. 
The very attempt is a daring impeachment of the 
goodness and wisdom of God ; for if righteousness 
could come by the law, then Christ has died in vain ; 
Gal. ii. 21 ; iii. 21 ; so that such a hope is not only 
groundless but sinful ; and, when persisted in under 
the light of the gospel, is no less than a wilful re- 
jection of the grace of God." 

Colquhoun : " The great error of the Galatians 
was this : they did not believe that the righte- 
ousness of Jesus Christ alone was sufficient to 
entitle them to the justification of life; and there- 



68 SALVATION IS NOT BY OUR OBEDIENCE TO THE LAW. 

fore they depended for justification partly on their 
own obedience to the moral law, and to the ceremo- 
nial law." 

VI. Salvation partly by the law, and partly by the 
Gospel, is impossible. Grace and works are utterly 
opposed to each other as schemes, of acceptance with 
God. In two epistles, Paul says as much. He says 
that if salvation is " by grace, then is it no more of 
works : otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it 
be of works, then is it no more grace : otherwise work 
is no more work." Rom. xi. 6. Again, " Christ is 
become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are 
justified by the law: ye are fallen from grace." 
Gal. v. 4. 

The ways in which a self-righteous spirit gains 
fearful power over man are such as these : 

First. — Do and live is the law of nature. "The 
man that doeth those things shall live by them." Rom. 
x. 5. Righteousness by works is the natural method 
of justification. Until the fall, Adam stood accepted 
of God on this ground. To this day the holy angels 
are justified by works alone. The heart of man is 
wedded to the law. 

Secondly. — Self-righteousness requires no humility, 
but leaves the heart under the full control of self- 
complacency. Pride is natural to man ; and the ex- 
pectation of life by his own works feeds his self-es- 
teem. The first and great demand of the gospel is 
humility. Matt, xviii. 4, xxiii. 12 ; Luke xiv. 11, 
xviii. 14 ; 1 Pet. v. 6. 

Thirdly. — It is of the very nature of sin to blind 
the mind respecting all spiritual good. The sinner 
naturally perceives neither the holiness of the law, 



SALVATION IS NOT BY OUR OBEDIENCE TO THE LAW. 69 

the sinfulness of his own heart, nor the glory of God 
in the gospel scheme. " The god of this world hath 
blinded the minds of them which believe not." 2 Cor. 
iv. 4. 

Fourthly. — Men are often led to indulge self- 
righteous hopes by comparing themselves with others. 
2 Cor. x. 12. This, indeed, is not wise. The rule 
of final judgment will not be the life of our fellow- 
man but the perfectly holy law of God. Yet many 
say, If I am lost, what will become of these sinners 
around me ? The correct answer is, Repent and be- 
lieve on the Lord Jesus Christ, or you shall all perish 
together. Yet how many are found full of self- 
righteousness, saying like the Pharisee, God, I 
thank thee, I am not as other men, or even as this 
publican. 

Fifthly. — Probably not a few mistake gifts for 
graces ; and because they are fluent in prayer, they 
think they have the spirit of prayer ; or because they 
have prophesied in the name of the Lord, and in his 
name done many wonderful works, or commended his 
gospel with great earnestness to their fellow-men, 
they think themselves safe. 

Sixthly. — Others say, " We have Abraham to our 
father." They expect to go to heaven because of 
their pious ancestry, or relations. They cannot con- 
ceive how the descendants of so good people as their 
parents should ever come short of heaven. 

Let us, therefore, not imitate the wretched example 
of those, of whom Paul speaks, when he says, " They 
being ignorant of God's righteousness and going about 
to establish their own righteousness, have not sub- 
mitted themselves unto the righteousness of God." 



70 SALVATION IS NOT BY OUR OBEDIENCE TO THE LAW 

Horn. x. 3. Let us rather follow the example and 
utter the prayer of David when bowed down with a 
just sense of his heinous guilt, he cried, "Enter not 
into judgment with thy servant : for in thy sight 
shall no man living be justified." Ps. cxliii. 2. 



ANTINOMIANISM, 



71 



CHAPTERXI. 

ANTINOMIANISM. 

ANTINOMIANISM is opposition to law. The 
word has, however, become tolerably precise in 
its meaning. Strictly speaking, Antinomianism is 
the doctrine, which asserts that under the gospel 
dispensation the moral law is not binding. In a more 
extended sense it is any system of doctrine, which, if 
fairly carried out, would destroy belief in the necessity 
of good works, or of a holy life. 

The sect, called Antinomians, arose in the 16th 
century. . Their founder was John Agricola. He re- 
duced libertine principles to a system. His followers 
were at one time numerous. They were pests to 
society in many places. They can hardly be said to 
have a separate existence now. 

But opposition to the law as a rule of life is coeval 
with the fall of man. Antinomianism has its seat in 
the deep depravity of the human heart. " The carnal 
mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the 
law of God, neither indeed can be." Rom. viii. 7. Its 
spirit is of the essence of sin. The Old and New 
Testaments, and indeed all histories, are full of records 
showing the deadly hostility of men to the restraints 
of the divine precepts. Solomon, Jeremiah, Hosea 



72 ANTINOMIANISM. 

and many others tell us of men, who by anticipation 
were followers of Agricola. Pr. vii. 14-18 ; Jer. vii. 
9, 10 ; Hos. xii. 7, 8. 

The principles of Antinomians are variously stated. 
A thorough-paced Antinomian holds that if Christ 
finished his work, there is nothing left for us to do, 
that the moral law is no rule of duty to Christians, 
that the transgression of its precepts by God's people 
is not sinful ; that the law is of no use under the gospel, 
and that of course it is not of binding obligation. The 
reasoning of Antinomians is something like this : salva- 
tion is wholly by grace ; man is impotent to good him- 
self ; God's grace is sovereign, so that it is not of him 
that willeth nor of him that runneth ; therefore we are 
not under law, even to Christ ; all our endeavours are 
useless, and we may give a loose rein to all our cor- 
ruptions. 

Richard Baxter describes three classes of Antino- 
mians in his day. There were the libertines, who said 
" The heart is the man ; therefore you may deny the 
truth with your tongue, you may be present at false 
worships, (as at the mass,) you need not suffer to avoid 
the speaking of a word, or subscribing to an untruth 
or error, or doing some little thing ; but, so long as 
you keep your hearts to God, and mean well, or have 
an honest mental reservation, and are forced to it by 
others, rather than suffer, you may say, or subscribe, 
or swear anything which you can yourselves put a law- 
ful sense upon in your own minds, or you may comply 
with any outward actions or customs to avoid offence 
or save yourselves." 

Then there were regular Antinomians who said that 
" The moral law is abrogated, and that the gospel is 



ANTINOMIANISM. 



T3 



no law ; that the elect are justified before they are 
horn, or repent, or believe ; that their sin is pardoned 
before it is committed ; that God took them as suffer- 
ing and fulfilling all the law in Christ, as if it had 
been they that did it in him : that we are justified by 
faith only in our consciences : that justifying faith is 
but believing that we are justified : that every man 
must believe that he is pardoned, that he may be par- 
doned in his conscience ; . . that all are for- 
given that so believe : that it is legal and sinful to 
work or do any thing for salvation : that sin once 
pardoned need not be confessed and lamented, or at 
least we need not ask pardon of sin daily, or of one 
sin oft," &c, &c. 

The third class described by Baxter are the Auto- 
nomians, who claimed that they were a law unto them- 
selves. "They equally contend against Christ's 
government, and for their own. They fill the world 
with war and bloodshed, oppression and cruelty ; and 
the ears of God with the cries of the martyrs and op- 
pressed ones. . . . They are the scorners and 
persecutors of strict obedience to the laws of God, and 
take those that fear his judgments to be men affrighted 
out of their wits ; and that to obey exactly is but to 
be hypocritical or too precise : but to question their 
domination, or break their laws, this must be taken 
for heresy, schism, or a rebellion like that of Korah 
and his company." 

The world abounds with Antinomians. These are 
of three classes ; 1. Speculative Antinomians. They 
are such as embrace some of the leading principles set 
forth above. They may hold but one or two of them ; 
or they may receive the system. 2. There are Anti- 
7 



T4 



ANTINOMIANISM. 



nomians in desire. These feel the restraints of the 
law to be irksome. They would gladly cast off its 
cords and burst its bands asunder. And yet they 
have been too well instructed, and have too much 
conscience to be able to do so at once. But as the 
process of hardening the heart is going on rapidly, 
they may yet be able to say, " We will none of thy 
ways." 3. Then we have the Practical Antinomians. 
They care little about systems. They hardly avow a 
creed. But " the worst heresy is a wicked life." This 
they lead always. They practically and continually 
say, " Who is the Lord that we should obey him ?" 

In every form of Antinomianism, and especially in 
the systematic form it sometimes assumes, we can 
hardly fail to notice its utter contrariety to Scripture. 
Paul says, " Shall we continue in sin that grace may 
abound? God forbid." Rom. vi.1,2. He declares that 
it was a slanderous rejwtf against him and his brethren 
that they taught, that we may do evil that good may 
come. He says that the " damnation' [condemnation] 
of those who hold such a principle is "just." Bom. iii. 
8. " Any doctrine inconsistent with the first prin- 
ciples of morals must be false, no matter how plausi- 
ble the metaphysical argument in its favour. . . . 
Paul assumed, as an ultimate fact, that it is wrong to 
do evil that good may come." 

How clearly the Scriptures testify against all Anti- 
nomian tendencies will appear by citing even a few 
passages. Paul says, " There are many unruly and 
vain talkers and deceivers, who subvert whole houses, 
teaching things which they ought not, for filthy lucre's 
sake." Titus i. 10, 11. John says, " If we say that 
we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, 



ANTINOMIANISM. 75 

we lie, and do not the truth." 1 John i. 6. "He 
that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his command- 
ments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him." 1 John 
ii. 4. "Every man that hath this hope in him, puri- 
fieth himself, even as he is pure." 1 John iii. 3. Peter 
also tells us of such: "Spots they are and blemishes, 
sporting themselves with their own deceivings while 
they feast with you; having eyes full of adultery, and 
that cannot cease from sin ; beguiling unstable souls : 
an heart they have exercised with covetous practices ; 
cursed children." 2 Pet. ii. 13, 14. Jude also says 
of such: "These are spots in your feasts of charity, 
when they feast with you, feeding themselves without 
fear: clouds they are without water, carried about 
with winds ; trees whose fruit withereth, without fruit, 
twice dead, plucked up by the roots ; raging waves of 
the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering 
stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness 
for ever." Jude 12, 13. No wonder that in the 
strong language of Scripture, such men are "abomi- 
nable and disobedient, and to every good work repro- 
bate." Titus i. 16. 

When we open the gospel we find the most urgent 
calls to holiness founded on its gracious proposals : 
" Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let 
us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and 
spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God." 2 
Cor. vii. 1. Indeed, Paul expressly declares that 
"the grace of God that bringeth salvation," that is, 
the gospel, "teaches us that, denying ungodliness 
and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, 
and godly in this present world." Titus ii. 11, 12. 
Again, " God hath not called us to un cleanness, but 



76 ANTINOMIANISM. 

unto holiness." John says: "Let no man deceive you: 
he that doeth righteousness is righteous. . . He 
that committeth sin is of the devil." 1 John iii. 7, 8. 

The following propositions laid down by Flavel are 
abundantly supported by Scripture: 

1. The Scriptures "frequently discover God's 
anger, and tell us his castigatory rods of affliction are 
laid upon his people for their sins." 2 Sam. xii. 9-14; 
Ex. iv. 13, 14; Jer. xxx. 15; Lam. iii. 39, 40; Ps. 
xxxviii. 3-5; Micah vii. 9, &c, &c. 

2. They "represent sin as the greatest evil; most 
opposite to the glory of God and good of the saints; 
and are therefore filled with cautions and threaten- 
ings to prevent their sinning." Jer. v. 30, xliv. 4, 
xviii. 13. xxiii. 14; Hosea vi. 10; Ps. xiv. 1, liii. 1; 
Titus i. 16; 1 Pet. iv. 3; Rom. vi. 23; Dan. v. 23; 
Rom. iii. 23; Heb. iv. 1, and many other places. 

3. " The Scriptures call the saints frequently and 
earnestly, not only to mourn for their sins before the 
Lord, but to pray for the pardon and remission of 
them in the blood of Christ." Matt. vi. 12; 1 Pet. v. 
6; James iv. 10, &c, &c. 

4. "They earnestly and everywhere press believers 
to strictness and constancy in the duties of religion, 
as the way wherein God would have them to walk." 
Rom. xii., throughout, 1 Cor. xv. 58, &c, &c. 

Many other Scriptures might be cited to the same 
effect. He, who has read thus far, and who shall 
read the next chapter also, can be at no loss for proof- 
texts. 

Of all errors in religion, perhaps none is more re- 
volting to the truly pious than the grosser forms of 
Antinomianism. It is hardly more shocking to deny 



ANTINOMIANISM. 



77 



the divine existence altogether than it is to teach that 
God is the patron of iniquity. Those pious men, who 
seem to have had most intercourse with Antinomians, 
regard their principles and practices with extreme ab- 
horrence. It is impossible to read the works of those 
venerable servants of Christ, Thomas Scott, the 
Commentator, and Andrew Fuller, without perceiving 
that they must have witnessed the most odious exhi- 
bitions of human wickedness. They were doubtless 
right in expressing in many forms the belief that 
nothing more imperils the soul than any religious 
principle, which releases us from the government of 
God. 

Perhaps the most shocking thing in Antinomianism 
is that ordinarily it makes Christ the minister of sin. 
It impudently marches up to his cross, and says, "0 
thou bleeding Lamb, who didst live and die for me, 
I will neither live nor die for thee ; but I will serve 
divers lusts and please myself." 

The testimony of sound and pious writers in all 
branches of the church of Christ against Antinomian 
laxity of life and doctrine has been clear and uniform. 
The best writers of the 17th century have lifted up 
their united voices in the most solemn manner against 
it. 

Bishop Hopkins says: "Antinomianism is to be 
abominated, which derogates from the value and 
validity of the law, and contends that it is to all pur- 
poses extinct to believers, even as to its preceptive 
and regulating power ; and that no other obligation to 
duty lies upon them who are in Christ Jesus, but only 
from the law of gratitude: that God requires not obe- 
dience from them upon so low and sordid an account 
7* 



T8 



ANTINOMIANISM. 



as the fear of his wrath and dread severity ; but all is 
to flow only from the principle of love and the sweet 

temper of a grateful and ingenuous spirit 

This is a most pestilent doctrine, which plucks down 
the fence of the law, and opens a gap for all manner 
of licentiousness and libertinism to rush in upon the 
Christian world." 

Leighton: "The gospel sets not men free to pro- 
faneness : no, it is a doctrine of holiness. 'We are 
not called unto uncleanness, but unto holiness.' 1 
Thess. iv. 7. He hath indeed taken off the hardness, 
the iron yoke, and now, his commandments are not 
grievous. 1 John v. 3. His yoke is easy, and his 
burden light. They who are most sensible, and have 
most assurance of their deliverance, are ever the most 
active and fruitful in obedience : they feel themselves 
light and nimble, having the heavy chains and fetters 
taken off. 6 Lord, I am tby servant; thou hast loosed 
my bonds.' " Ps. cxvi. 16. 

Flavel : " God preserve all his people from the gross 
and vile opinions of Antinomian libertines, who cry 
up grace, and decry obedience: who under specious 
pretences of exalting a naked Christ upon the throne, 
do indeed strip him naked of a great part of his 
glory, and vilely dethrone him. My pen shall not 
English what mine eyes have read. Tell it not in 
Gath." 

Charnock : " Libertinism and licentiousness find 
no encouragement in the gospel. It was made knoivn 
to all nations for the obedience of faith. The good- 
ness of God is published, that our enmity to him 
may be parted with. Christ's righteousness is not 
offered to us to be put on, that we may roll the more 



ANTINOMIANISM. 



79 



warmly in our sins. The doctrine of grace commands 
us to give up ourselves to Christ to be accepted 
through him, and to be ruled by him. Obedience is 
due to God, as a sovereign in his law ; and it is due 
out of gratitude, as he is a God of grace in the gos- 
pel .... The gospel frees us from the curse, but 
not from the duty and service. 6 We are delivered 
from the hands of our enemies, that we might serve 
God in holiness and righteousness.' Luke i. 74, 75. 
This is the will of God in the gospel, even our sancti- 
fication. When a prince strikes off a malefactor's 
chains, though he . deliver him from the punishment 
of his crime, he frees him not from the duty of a sub- 
ject . . . Christ's righteousness gives us a title to 
heaven ; but there must be holiness to give us a fitness 
for heaven." 

T. Watson : " They who cast God's law be- 
hind their backs, God will cast their prayers behind 
his back ; they who will not have the law to rule 
over them shall have the law to judge them . . . 
If God spake all these words, then we must hear all 
these words. As we would have God hear all our 
words when we pray, so we must hear all his words 
when he speaks. He that stops his ears when God 
cries, shall cry himself and not be heard." 

Boston : " All men are obliged to keep these com- 
mandments, for God is Lord of all; but the saints espe- 
cially ; for besides being their Lord, he is their God 
and Redeemer too. So far is the state of the saints 
from being one of sinful liberty that there are none so 
strongly bound to obedience as they, and that by the 
strongest of all bonds, those of love and gratitude." 

Nor have modern divines of high character been 



80 



ANTINOMIANISM. 



more slow or less sweeping in expressing their abhor- 
rence of this corrupt system of faith and practice. 
May it not rather be called a system of unbelief and 
of want of practice ? John Newton : "It is an un- 
lawful use of the law, that is an abuse of it, an 
abuse both of law and gospel, to pretend that its ac- 
complishment by Christ releases believers from any 
obligation to it as a rule. Such an assertion is not 
only wicked, but absurd and impossible in the highest 
degree : for the law is founded in the relation be- 
tween the Creator and the creature, and must una- 
voidably remain in force so long as that relation 
subsists." 

In his lectures in divinity, George Hill speaks of 
Antinomianism as "this horrible doctrine," and 
guards his readers against the impression " that the 
disrepute into which Antinomian preaching has begun 
to fall is owing to a departure from Calvinism ;" and 
declares that there is " no room to suppose that Calvi- 
nism is inconsistent with rational, practical preaching." 

Dr. Dwight well says : " Why is the law no longer 
a rule of righteousness to Christians ? Is it be- 
cause they are no longer under its condemning 
sentence ? For this very reason they are under in- 
creased obligations to obey its precepts. Is it because 
they are placed under a better rule or a worse one ? 
A better rule cannot exist : a worse, God would not 
prescribe." 

Robert Hall : " The principles which compose the 
Antinomian heresy, are as much opposed to the grace, 
as to the authority of the great head of the church." 



THE GOSPEL DOES NOT SUPERSEDE MORAL LAW. 81 



CHAPTER XII. 

THE GOSPEL DOES NOT SUPERSEDE THE MORAL 
LAW. 

A GREAT desire of the adversary of souls in every 
age has been to effect a divorce between doctrine 
and practice. Probably in no other way has more harm 
been done. Owen : " There is no way whereby the 
whole rule of duty can be rendered more vain and 
useless unto the souls of men than by the separation 
of the duties of the law from the grace of the gospel. ' ' 
If men can be brought to believe that morality will 
save them without piety, the gospel is at once ren- 
dered of none effect. On the other hand, if men 
believe that any species of piety towards God ren- 
ders unnecessary the great principles of morality 
towards men, they will of course turn the grace of 
God into lasciviousness. That the apostles saw a hap- 
py harmony existing between our duties to God and 
our duties to man, and that in their view doctrine 
and practice were not hostile is evident from their 
writings. The epistle to the Romans makes a near 
approach to a systematic body of evangelical doc- 
trine. It consists of sixteen chapters. The first 
eleven assert the highest doctrines of grace. The 
last five contain a better code of morals than can be 



82 THE GOSPEL DOES NOT SUPERSEDE MORAL LAW. 

found in the writings of the whole heathen and infi- 
del world. The epistle to the Ephesians is one of 
the sublimest ever written. It contains six chapters. 
One can hardly imagine how an apostle standing at 
the gate of heaven could utter sublimer doctrine than 
is found in the first three. Yet the last three give 
directions for the guidance of our conduct before men, 
which, if honestly carried out, would make a heaven 
upon earth. 

It would indeed be very remarkable if the Son of 
God should have done anything against the law of 
which he himself was the author. This matter is 
made entirely clear by Stephen, in his last address to 
the Jews. Speaking of the great prophet promised 
to them like unto Moses, he says of Christ, " This is 
he, that was in the church in the wilderness, with the 
angel which spake to him in the Mount Sina, and 
with our fathers : who receive the lively oracles to 
give unto us." Acts vii. 38. See also Heb. xii. 
24-26. 

That the gospel does not supersede the law is ex- 
plicitly taught in the word of God. Having stated 
the doctrine of a gratuitous justification for Jew and 
Gentile, Paul says, " Bo we then make void the law 
through faith ? God forbid : yea, we establish the 
law." Rom. iii. 31. That this is so will appear if we 
but remember that no one, not even an angel of 
heaven, ever magnified the law and made it honour- 
able, as Christ has done in his life of obedience and 
suffering, and that all his genuine followers make it 
their great concern to walk in his footsteps. That 
Jesus Christ taught nothing contrary to a perfect obe- 
dience to the moral law, and made no war upon it, he 



THE GOSPEL DOES NOT SUPERSEDE MORAL LAW. 83 



expressly asserts : " It is easier for heaven and earth 
to pass, than one tittle of the law to fail." Luke xvi. 
17. Much more at length in the sermon on the 
mount, the Lord says, " Think not that I am come to 
destroy the law, or the prophets ; I am not come to 
destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till 
heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no 
wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. Whoso- 
ever therefore shall break one of these least com- 
mandments, and shall teach men so, shall be called the 
least in the kingdom of heaven ; but whosoever shall do 
and teach them, the same shall be called great in the 
kingdom of heaven. For I say unto you, that except 
your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of 
the Scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter 
into the kingdom of heaven." Matt. v. 17-20. 

Besides this explicit declaration of our Lord, it is 
manifest on the very face of the sermon on the mount 
that the great aim of much of it was to rescue the 
law from the glosses and false interpretations of the 
Scribes and Pharisees. But the object at present is, 
to consider somewhat at length the four verses already 
quoted. Stier thinks that the choice of a mountain, 
as a place for the delivery of Christ's great sermon, 
had reference to something more than merely a fitting 
pulpit. He says, "We involuntarily and naturally 
think of that mountain of the law which preached 
condemnation. The. Old Testament placed foremost 
the curse ; the New, being glad tidings, begins with a 
blessing." 

The question naturally arises, how did our Lord 
come to introduce this subject ? Was there any 
popular error which required this refutation ? The 



84 THE GOSPEL DOES NOT SUPERSEDE MORAL LAW. 



very first words, " Think not" would intimate either 
that they had thought, or were in great danger of 
thinking erroneously. There was an old Rabbinical 
saying that, "In the days of the Messias, the un- 
clean shall be clean, and the forbidden allowed." 
If no error on this point was publicly taught, our Lord 
knew the heart of man too well to doubt that it would ' 
endeavour to pervert the doctrines of grace, as pro- 
mulged by himself, to the purposes of a wicked life. 
The two words, the Law and the Prophets, evidently 
denote the whole of the Scriptures. We have the 
same phrase in Matt. vii. 12, xxii. 40 ; Luke xvi. 16 ; 
Acts xiii. 15 ; Rom. iii. 21. In all these cases the 
phrase evidently designates the entire word of God 
then written. In no sense did Jesus Christ come to 
introduce lawlessness. Himself submitted to the 
rite of circumcision and to baptism also, that he 
might fulfil all righteousness. He had not come to 
release mankind from the municipal laws under which 
they lived ; much less had he come to wage a war of 
destruction upon the great principles of piety and 
morality as taught in the moral law. The whole 
sense of the passage must very much turn upon the 
meaning of the words rendered destroy and fulfil. 
In giving the sense of this passage, commentators have 
been remarkably agreed. Luther : " I am not come 
to make of none effect, but to complete." To destroy 
the law and the prophets, says Diodati, is, " To dero- 
gate from their authority, to cause them to be thought 
false or unprofitable, to propound a doctrine contrary 
to them." To fulfil he paraphrases thus : " Observing 
the law in all points myself, and bringing to pass all 
that was foretold by the prophets, and putting in force 



THE GOSPEL DOES NOT SUPERSEDE MORAL LAW. 85 



the right of the law ; namely, to require a perfect 
obedience, and its promise, which is to give life to 
them that fulfil it, and is effected in me alone for all 
my church." Pool thinks that by Christ's saying he 
came not to destroy the law, we are to understand 
that he came not to "put an end to the moral law," 
and by fulfilling it we are to understand " not that he 
came to fill it up, as papists and Socinians contend, 
adding any new precepts to it ; but by yielding him- 
self a personal obedience to it, by giving a fuller and 
stricter interpretation of it than the Jews formerly 
had, and by taking the curse of it, and giving a just 
satisfaction to divine justice for it." Clarke : " I am 
not come to make the law of none effect — to dissolve 
the connection which subsists between its several 
parts, or the obligation men are under to have their 
lives regulated by its moral precepts ; nor am I come 
to dissolve the connecting reference it has to the good 
things promised. But I am come to complete — to 
perfect its connection and reference, to accomplish 
every thing shadowed forth in the Mosaic ritual, to fill 
up its great design, and to give grace to all my follow- 
ers, to fill up or complete every moral duty." Scott : 
" Christ assured the Jews that he had not come to 
teach anything inconsistent with the true meaning of 
their sacred writings, which would still continue in force 
as a part of divine revelation. . . . The moral law 
he came to fulfil, by perfectly obeying it as the surety 
of his people, in his life, sufferings, death and doc- 
trines ; to establish it in its fullest honour and author- 
ity ; and to make the most effectual provision for 
men's loving and obeying it." Tholuck : "The Sa- 
viour says, ' My coming has not a negative, but a posi- 
8 



86 THE GOSPEL DOES NOT SUPERSEDE MORAL LAW. 



tive end : I am come not to do away, but to fulfil.' " 
Stier : " Has Christ, then, in any sense, brought a new, 
a better, a more perfect law, than the law, to fulfil 
which he avows himself to be come ? By no means, 
as the whole sermon on the mount, his whole word, 
and the virtue of that law itself in our consciences 
attest. . . . If ye expect a Messiah, such as the 
prophets fore-announced, and yet suppose that he will 
come as a relaxer of the law, ye do greatly err, not 
understanding the prophets in their central harmony 
with the law. If I did not fulfil the law, then would 
the prophets also fail of their fulfilment. . . . Let 
not the world think, even the Christian world down to 
this day, that he came for any other end than to es- 
tablish the whole will of God, as the law and the pro- 
phets in Israel especially enforced and foretold it : — 
let this be declared to the world continually in the 
Lord's own words, both for its encouragement and 
warning." There is not the slightest ground for the 
opinion that to fulfil means no more than to teach ; and 
that to destroy means no more than not to teach or to 
teach the contrary. The early fathers, the reformers 
and the best writers in the seventeenth century dwell 
much upon the perfection of the fulfilling of the law by 
Christ. Melancthon says, " In four ways has the law 
been fulfilled by Christ ; 1. By the obedience he 
showed to it in his own behalf; 2. By suffering for us 
its penalty. 3. Inasmuch as he fulfils the law in us 
through the Holy Spirit ; 4. Inasmuch as he has con- 
firmed it, and given his testimony to the necessity 
of keeping it." Maldonatus says, " Christ fulfilled 
the law ; 1. In his own person, and by enjoining 
upon his apostles also compliance with its ceremonial 



THE GOSPEL DOES NOT SUPERSEDE MORAL LAW. 87 



precepts ; 2. By rightly interpreting it ; 3. By giv- 
ing us grace to keep it ; 4. By realizing in his per- 
son the types of the law." No doubt a Jew of those 
days by the law understood the whole of the dispen- 
sation as settled in the Old Testament ; but as the 
Decalogue constituted the centre and indeed the very 
heart of that system, so far as precept is concerned, 
the moral law is unquestionably here included. 

In the eighteenth verse, our Lord reiterates in the 
most explicit terms what he had asserted in the seven- 
teenth. " For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and 
earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass 
from the law till all be fulfilled." Diodati says, that 
the form of expression here used is a proverbial kind 
of speech, as much as to say, Never while the world 
lasts. He thinks it is equivalent to that phrase in 
Job xiv. 12, "Till the heavens be no more;" or to 
that in Ps. lxxii. 5, "As long as the sun and moon 
endure." No doubt this is the Saviour's real mean- 
ing. Augustine thinks that the jot [or iota] is the 
Latin i 9 and by the tittle he understands the dot over 
the i. But our Saviour was not speaking to Latins 
nor in the Latin language. Yet what our Saviour 
did say is as striking as if the Bishop of Hippo had 
given the correct explanation. The jot no doubt 
means the tenth and smallest letter of the Hebrew 
alphabet, or the ninth and smallest letter of the Greek 
alphabet, and by the tittle we are to understand a 
small stroke of the pen of no more importance in com- 
position than our (,). Stier : " The iota is the small- 
est letter, the tittle, little horn or point, is the smallest 
part of a letter which appertains to the true and 
established Scripture." Tholuck: " This expression 



88 THE GOSPEL DOES NOT SUPERSEDE MORAL LAW. 



of Christ is an emphatic designation of the law in its 
most minute parts." Stier : "That this strong ex- 
pression refers figuratively, in its special meaning, to 
the least important of its contents, is plainly to be 
understood." This verse is characterized by the 
solemn word, Amen, in English Verily ; and by that 
peculiar form of speech employed by Christ, I say 
unto you — as if he had said, I, the Alpha and Omega, 
the infallible Teacher and final Judge of quick and 
dead. 

The 19th verse is of somewhat difficult interpreta- 
tion as to its precise meaning in two points. The 
first relates to the phrase, one of these least command- 
ments. These words themselves have been taken in 
three senses. Some suppose they refer to the provi- 
sions of the Ceremonial Law. But this is not admis- 
sible, since Christ himself speaks of David as blame- 
less, though he eat the shew-bread. And every- 
where in the Old Testament, no less than in the New, 
acts of justice, mercy, and dutifulness to parents re- 
ceive a decided commendation over any attention to 
religious ceremonies, though prescribed by God. 
And in the 15th chapter of Acts, the council of the 
apostles and elders did not hesitate to declare that 
the Mosaic ritual was not binding upon the Gentiles. 
Others think the reference is to the commands of our 
Saviour as given in the New Testament. This can 
hardly be its meaning, because it was not the topic 
of his discourse. The other opinion, which is most 
probably the correct one, is that by commandments 
here, we are to understand the precepts of the Deca- 
logue. This is the usual sense of the word command- 
ments in the New Testament. See Matt. xxii. 40 ; 



THE GOSPEL DOES NOT SUPERSEDE MORAL LAW. 89 



Mark x. 19 ; Luke i. 6, xviii. 20 ; 1 Cor. xii. 19. 
When the peculiar precepts of our Saviour are spo- 
ken of by himself, he calls them my commandments ; 
when they are spoken of by others, they are called 
the commandments of the Lord, or his commandments. 
1 Cor. xiv. 37 ; 1 John ii. 4, iii. 24. 

The New Testament admits that all the command- 
ments are not of equal importance. Matt. xxii. 36, 
38, 40 ; Mark xii. 30. The Saviour admits the same 
in this verse. The Scribes and Pharisees had greatly 
abused this principle. They had put ceremonies 
above moral duties. They had declared that " Who- 
soever after meat washeth not his hands is no better 
than he who hath committed a murder." By their 
traditions, they had in many ways made void the 
commandments of God. Our Saviour does not deny 
that one commandment may be more important than 
another. But he guards against the infraction of the 
very least, in the solemn manner now to be consid- 
ered. He says, " Whosoever therefore shall break 
one of these least commandments, and shall teach 
men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of 
heaven." Here is the second point of difficulty men- 
tioned above. This is very alarming language, and 
should be well weighed by every man. If the evil 
here threatened is suited to strike terror, the blessing 
promised to those who do and teach these command- 
ments is very glorious ; they shall be called great in 
the kingdom of heaven. Commentators are not agreed 
whether by the kingdom of heaven we are to under- 
stand the visible church on earth as constituted by 
Christ, or the invisible kingdom of glory in heaven. 
But we need not perplex ourselves on this matter, 
8 * 



90 THE GOSPEL DOES NOT SUPERSEDE MORAL LAW. 



inasmuch as he who is really unfit to be a member of 
the church on earth, is not fit to enter heaven. So 
we may give to the phrase the most solemn meaning. 
The views of commentators on the import of the 
phrase, the least in the kingdom of heaven, are such 
as. these: Diodati: They "shall lose much of 
Crod's approbation and of the good esteem of true 
believers." Henry: " Those who extenuate and en- 
courage sin, and discountenance and put contempt 
upon strictness in religion and serious devotion, are 
the dregs of the church." Doddridge: "He shall 
be accounted [one of] the least and unworthiest mem- 
bers in the kingdom of heaven, or in the church 
of the Messiah ; and shall soon be entirely cut off 
from it as unfit for so holy a society." Whitby: 
" He shall be unworthy to be reckoned one of the 
members of my kingdom." Clarke: "Shall have 
no place in the kingdom of Christ here, nor in the 
kingdom of glory above." Scott: "Either no true 
disciple at all, or one of the most inconsistent and mean 
of the whole company." Pool: "Shall be accounted 
of the least value and esteem in the church of Grod, 
and shall never come into the kingdom of glory." 
Tholuck : " We are obliged to conclude that it is not ex- 
clusion, but inferiority of station, which is here spoken 
of." Stowell: "Christ assures his disciples that he 
who in the slightest degree departs from the most rigid 
demands of that rule, and either directly or indirectly 
teaches others so to do, shall scarcely be esteemed as 
belonging to the Christian church, or, if belonging to 
it, as the least worthy and consistent of its members ; 
whilst, on the other hand, he who is obedient in all 
things, and by his instruction, persuasion, or exam- 



THE GOSPEL DOES NOT SUPERSEDE MORAL LAW. 91 



pie, influences others to the same obedience, shall be 
honoured as an enlightened, decided, and useful sub- 
ject of "the kingdom of heaven." Hare: "He 
shall be considered a most unworthy member of 
Christ's kingdom even here, and therefore, I need not 
add, can have no chance of being admitted into 
Christ's glorious and everlasting kingdom hereafter." 
Whatever, therefore, may be the precise meaning of 
the phrase, least in the kingdom of heaven, we cannot 
doubt that it contains an awful warning against the 
error of lightly esteeming any one of the Ten Com- 
mandments. 

In the 20th verse, the Lord says, " For I say unto 
you, that except your righteousness shall exceed the 
righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees, ye shall 
in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven." "The 
righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees," says Di- 
odati, "was all set upon vain ceremonies, arbitrary 
disciplines, false shows, and dead works without God's 
Spirit." The Scribes and Pharisees were very highly 
esteemed by the people for their piety; but Jesus 
Christ says his disciples must exceed them, both in 
their principles and practice. " Their interpretation 
of the moral law," says Pool, "was so short and 
jejune, that it is manifest that their righteousness was 
not only a righteousness not of faith, but of 
works, and those works that were very imperfect, and 
short of what the true sense of the law required." 
Scott: "The zeal and strictness of the Scribes and 
Pharisees, both in doctrine and practice, was chiefly 
shown about their own traditions, by which they 
'made void the law of God;' and about minute ob- 
servances, by which they covered over their neglect 



92 THE GOSPEL DOES NOT SUPERSEDE MORAL LAW. 

of judgment, mercy, faith, and the love of God and 
man." It was always true that the letter of the law 
killed. It is the Spirit that maketh alive. The most 
exact observance of a ritual, and the most decent, 
though heartless conformity to the precepts of the 
moral law, never did meet the demands of God's * 
•word. Those, therefore, whose piety goes not be- 
yond externals, however faultless in the eyes of men, 
will never secure the smiles of God. Of such the Sa- 
viour says, " they shall in no case enter into the king- 
dom of heaven;" that is, they shall not be accepted 
members of his visible church, nor reign with him in 
glory. Yes, verily, our obedience must vastly excel 
that of any formalist that ever lived. Stowell : 
"Your righteousness must exceed theirs in the prin- 
s ciple from which it springs, — not like theirs, from pride 
and self-sufficiency, but from love; — in the motives by 
which it is influenced, — not the applause of mortals, 
but by the approbation of God, and the promo- 
tion of his glory ; — in the standard by which it is reg- 
ulated, — not the traditions and specious explanations 
of the Scribes and Pharisees themselves, but by the 
full and spiritual meaning of the law; in the extent 
to which it is carried, — not merely to the visible ob- 
servance, but also to the secret thoughts and feel- 
ings ; — in the effect it produces on others, — not se- 
curing their admiration of your ostentatious virtue, 
and forcing them to submit to your usurped au- 
thority, but leading them to admire the grace of 
God, to adore him in the purity and goodness of 
his law, and to emulate the example you hav^ set 
them." 

The conclusion is, nothing is said or done in the 



THE GOSPEL DOES NOT SUPERSEDE MORAL LAW. 93 



gospel to depreciate the law; but much to honour and 
magnify it. The apostasy gave no license to rebel- 
lion. Sinning can never make sinning lawful or ex- 
cusable. Nor does the grace of God in the gospel 
open a door to unholy living. 



94 



DETACHED REMARKS. 



CHAPTER XIII. 
DETACHED REMARKS. 

I. IGNORANCE OF THE LAW. 

THE evils of ignorance of the law are very great. 
They are such as these : Where the law is not well 
known, there is but little knowledge of sin. Of course 
convictions, if any, are slight. The fallow-ground of 
the human heart is not well broken up. And where 
the law is not well known, repentance is slight. We 
are called upon to mourn for our sins ; but if we do 
not know how numerous and vile they are, our sorrow 
will not bear any just proportion to their enormity. 
Besides, where there is general ignorance of the law, 
false confidence will abound. Multitudes will presume 
upon God's mercy where none is promised; and mul- 
titudes will lie in carnal security. When such ignor- 
ance becomes general, society assumes its very worst 
forms. Lawlessness runs riot. The animal nature of 
man fearfully prevails. Irreligion becomes general, 
and all sober men cry out, what are we coming to ? 
The gospel itself becomes for a loathing, like the 
manna to the Israelites ; for "without an experimental 
knowledge and an unfeigned faith of the law and the 
gospel, a man can neither venerate the authority of 
the one, nor esteem the grace of the other." 



DETACHED REMARKS. 



95 



II. HOW THE LAW IS MADE VOID. 

The error of many ancients, and of not a few 
moderns, consists, not in a formal denial of the obliga- 
tion of the moral law, but in inventing various devices 
for evading its force. The Scribes and Pharisees 
superadded a great mass of the traditions of the elders, 
which they regarded as equal and even paramount 
to the law of God. Against this capital error our 
Saviour directed much of his discourse. He charged 
them directly with transgressing the commandments 
of God by their traditions. The fifth commandment 
said, Honour thy father and mother. The tradition 
of the elders said, If a parent was suffering with 
hunger, and his son had an animal whose meat, when 
dressed, would be suitable food for the hungry, if the 
son wished not to relieve the distresses of his parents 
all that was necessary was to say, It is a gift ; it is 
Corban ; it is devoted to religious uses. Thus Christ 
declares, They made the commandments of God of 
none effect by their tradition. The worship of such 
is an offence to God. Jesus but expresses the tenor 
of the Old Testament when he says of such ; " In vain 
do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the com- 
mandments of men." Matt. xv. 2-9. Others render 
null and void the law by not sufficiently discriminat- 
ing between it and the gospel. Colquhoun : " To 
blend or confound the law and the gospel has been a 
fatal source of error in the Christian church ; and has 
embarrassed many believers not a little, in their exer- 
cise of faith and practice of holiness." The church 
of Rome follows both these devices fully. An old 
commentator says : 



96 DETACHED REMARKS. 

" The Scriptures teach that there is no difference 
to be put between meats, in regard of holiness, but 
that every creature of God is good. This the Papists 
make void by teaching that it is matter of religion and 
conscience to abstain from flesh meats at certain sea- 
sons. The Scripture teacheth that we should pray 
to God alone. This they make void by their manifold 
prayers to saints departed. The Scripture teacheth 
Christ alone to be our Mediator, both of redemption 
and intercession. This they make void by making 
saints intercessors. The Scripture teacheth Christ to 
be the only head of the church. This they abrogate 
by the doctrine of the Pope's supremacy. The Scrip- 
ture teacheth that every soul should be subject to the 
higher power. This they abrogate by exempting the 
Pope and popish clergy from subjection to the civil 
power of princes and magistrates. Lastly, to instance 
in the same kind as our Saviour here against the 
Pharisees, whereas the word of God commands chil- 
dren to honour their parents, the papists teach that 
if the child have vowed a monastical life, he is ex- 
empted from duty to parents." 

III. A RIGHT TEMPER. 

If in any thing, surely in the study of the law, a 
right temper is exceedingly important. The law is 
not to be looked upon as the word of man, but is to be 
received as it is in truth the word of God, spoken 
in most solemn circumstances. We are as much bound 
to look back to the awful scenes of Sinai, as if we 
ourselves had been present at the giving of the law. 
Whoever would study the law aright, must have a 
docile temper. He must be willing to learn whatever 



DETACHED REMARKS. 



97 



God would teach him. His language should be, 
" Speak, Lord, for thy servant heareth." We should 
know the law of God better if we would more zeal- 
ously practise what we have already learned. Per- 
haps nothing more impedes our spiritual progress than 
refusing to do as well as we know how. James iv. 17. 
We ought also to think much on the commandments. 
One mark of a good man, as laid down in the First 
Psalm is, that u his delight is in the law of the Lord; 
and in his law doth he meditate day and night." 
Although the word law here includes more than the 
ten Commands, even all Scripture, yet the law is an 
excellent part of the sacred writings ; so that it is not 
excluded. If we would study the law profitably, we 
must be open to conviction. We must not be scared 
away from beholding sad sights in our own hearts, 
habits and lives revealed to us by the law. We must 
be willing to borrow light from all proper sources. 
Not a book of Scripture is there but that it throws 
some light on the Commandments. Above all, we 
must ask for the illumination of the Holy Ghost. 
Without his teaching we shall labour in vain. Let us, 
therefore, cry mightily to God, asking him to quicken 
us in his way, and not to hide his commandments 
from us, to teach us the way of his statutes, and not 
to take his Holy Spirit from us. 

IV. HOW SHOULD THE LAW BE DIVIDED ? 

1. All admit that the law as at first given was 
upon two tables of stone written upon both sides, Ex. 
xxxii. 15. It is commonly thought that the first 
table contained all the law to the end of the require- 
ments respecting the Sabbath day; and that the 
9 



98 DETACHED REMARKS. 

second table contained all from the words," Honour thy 
father," &c. to the close of the Decalogue. Tradition 
has been so uniform in handing down this report that 
it is entitled to respect. The first table, therefore, 
enjoins duties directly owing to God ; and forbids sins 
directly committed against him and his worship. The 
second, prescribes our duties to man ; and forbids every 
species of sin against our neighbour. Calvin: "We 
have a reason at hand which removes all ambiguity 
on this subject. For God has thus divided his law 
into two parts, which comprise the perfection of righte- 
ousness, that we might assign the first part to the 
duties of religion, which peculiarly belong to the wor- 
ship of his majesty ; and the second to those duties of 
charity which respect men. The first foundation of 
righteousness is certainly the worship of God ; and if 
this be destroyed, all the other branches of righteous- 
ness, like the parts of a disjointed and falling edifice, 
are torn asunder and scattered. . . . It is vain 
to boast of righteousness without religion." The pre- 
cepts of both tables proceeded from the same authority, 
and yet sins against God are more heinous than sins 
directed against man. "If one man sin against 
another, the judge shall judge him : but if a man sin 
against the Lord, who shall intreat for him ?" 1 Sam. 
ii. 25. 

2. The method of numbering the commandments 
has not been entirely uniform. They are not in 
Scripture called the Ten Commandments, but the Ten 
Words. Hence some writers have felt at liberty to 
regard what is ordinarily called The Preface to the 
Commandments as the first word. Meier divides the 
ten words into two pentads, thus. L (1.) I am Jehovah 



DETACHED REMARKS. 



thy God. (2.) Thou shalt have no other gods beside 
me. (3.) Thou shalt not make to thyself any graven 
image. (4.) Thou shalt not take the name of Jehovah 
thy God in vain. (5.) Remember the Sabbath day to 
keep it holy. II. (1.) Honour thy father and thy 
mother. (2.) Thou shalt not commit adultery. (3.) 
Thou shalt do no murder. (4.) Thou shalt not bear 
false witness against thy neighbour. (5.) Thou shalt 
not steal. This arrangement omits entirely every 
thing respecting covetousness, and claims to be " the 
original form of the Decalogue." Kurtz says, that 
according to Meier : " These were the entire contents ; 
there was not a single word more or less ; and this 
was the way in which the commandments were ar- 
ranged in the two tables ! !" No wonder he adds the 
marks of exclamation. 

The words, " I am the Lord thy God, &c." clearly 
cannot be taken as constituting a commandment. 
They enjoin nothing. They prohibit nothing. They 
are a very fit preface to the whole code or to each 
commandment in it. And they have been commonly 
so regarded. They form, indeed, a very important 
sentence or word. The Jews and some others have 
put this sentence as the first word. They have united 
the prohibitions to have other gods and to make any 
graven image into one commandment, and made it the 
first ; and so have thrown the numbers forward in 
every instance, making but nine commandments. 
Augustine took a different course. He united the 
prohibition against having other gods and the use of 
images into one commandment, and called it the first. 
He divided the law concerning covetousness into two, 
numbering them the ninth and the tenth. He took 



100 



DETACHED REMARKS. 



the copy of the law not as given in the twentieth chap- 
ter of Exodus, but as given in the fifth chapter of 
Deuteronomy. According to him, the ninth com- 
mandment was, " Thou shalt not desire thy neigh- 
bour's wife;" and the tenth comprehended every 
thing else which we are forbidden to covet. The 
Roman Catholic church, and at least one Protestant 
church, have adopted this division. It should be fatal 
to it, that in the twentieth chapter of Exodus, the first 
thing we are forbidden to covet is our neighbour's 
house, and not our neighbour's wife. The rehearsal 
of the law in Deuteronomy is evidently given by a 
speaker who presents the sense of the whole, but is 
not claiming to give an exact copy of the very words 
used on Mount Sinai, or of the order in which they 
were written. The ordinary mode of division is, that 
the law against having other gods is the first com- 
mandment ; that against images, the second ; that 
against profaning God's name, the third ; that against 
profaning the Sabbath, the fourth ; and so on, making 
the law against every kind of covetousness, the tenth. 
" This division," says Kurtz, "was unhesitatingly 
adopted by Philo, Josephus, and Origen ; and they 
were followed by nearly all the Greek fathers, and by 
all the Latin until the time of Augustine. In the 
Greek church it continued to prevail, (the law against 
the worship of images being of course interpreted as 
referring to latria and not to doulia,) and the Swiss 
Reformers introduced it again in connection with the 
Reformed church. It has been most warmly and 
thoroughly defended by Zullig and Creffken, and is al- 
most universally adopted by modern theologians. ' ' This 
division is followed in this work. No particular im- 



DETACHED REMARKS. 



101 



portance attaches to the numbering of the command- 
ments, provided every word that God has spoken be 
faithfully delivered to the people. It is not reckon- 
ing the commandments aright, but keeping them, that 
is pleasing to God. And yet Roman Catholics have 
availed themselves of their mode of numbering the 
commandments entirely to omit from their short 
Catechisms all allusion to image worship. This is 
maiming and mutilating the word of God. It is plea- 
sant to find, that of late years, in America at least, 
some disposition is manifested by them to give this 
prohibition its place in their formularies. Bishop 
Hopkins (of the seventeenth century) says that in his 
time the words, " Thou shalt not make unto thee any 
graven image, &c," were generally omitted in all Ro- 
man Catholic books of devotion and of instruction for 
the people. Who has ever seen these words in any 
copy of the commandments placed near the altar in a 
mass house ? 

V. THE PREFACE TO THE MORAL LAW. 

I am the Lord thy God, which have brought 

THE OUT OF THE LAND OF EGYPT, OUT OF THE HOUSE 

OF bondage. The first title here claimed by God is 
Lord — in the Hebrew, Jehovah. It teaches the self- 
existence, independence, eternity and immutability 
of God. The word is commonly supposed to be de- 
rived from the Hebrew verb which signifies to be. 
Next to Elohim this is much the most usual name 
given to God in the Old Testament. It might have 
been well to transfer it into our English Bible in 
every case ; but our translators followed those ver- 
sions which had been previously made ; and their 
9 * 



102 



DETACHED "REMARKS. 



authors in their turn had been guided not a little by 
the Septuagint, which rendered it by a word signify- 
ing Lord or Master. But our English translation 
has guarded against misapprehension on the subject, 
by putting in small capitals the word Lord, when it 
is a translation of J ehovah. 

The second title here claimed by the lawgiver is 
Grod — in the Hebrew Llohim, which is in the plural 
form. There is no satisfactory explanation of the 
use of these plurals concerning God, except that they 
were intended to recognize a plurality of persons in 
the godhead. Being in the singular, Jehovah ex- 
presses the divine unity. Being in the plural, Elohim 
points to the trinity. The Lord says, I am thy God ; 
by which he claims to have that people in covenant 
relation with himself. The residue of the preface is 
a direct appeal to the gratitude of those to whom the 
law was first given, on the score of God's amazing 
mercies to them personally and nationally, temporally 
and spiritually. It reminded them of all that God 
had done for their fathers as well as for themselves. 
It specially pointed to the deliverance from Egyptian 
bondage, as no mean type of the greater redemption 
promised to our first parents in the garden of Eden. 

To us this preface teaches that " because God is 
the Lord, and our God and Redeemer, therefore we 
are bound to keep all his commandments." While 
claiming that these words are a preface to the whole 
law, we may yet admit that they have a particular 
relation to the first commandment. 

This preface then clearly points to the authority 
of the Most High, as the Creator and Governor of the 
world, as possessed of infinite and independent excel- 



DETACHED REMARKS. 



103 



lence, as having bound all his creatures to himself by 
bonds which they may not innocently disregard, and 
holding all who profess his name truly and firmly 
bound to his service by a covenant which he will not 
break, and which they may not lightly esteem. God's 
sovereignty is entire and absolute ; and is so declared 
in Scripture. Rom. ix. 20-23. 



104 



THE FIRST COMMANDMENT. 



CHAPTER XIV. 
THE FIRST COMMANDMENT. 

THOU SHALT HAVE NO OTHER GODS BEFORE ME. 

THE phrase before me in this commandment occurs 
nowhere else in the Decalogue. Some writers 
render it by the phrases, Beside me, or But me. „ 
Both of these are mistakes. The phrase, Before me, 
if rendered literally would be, Before my face. It 
specially refers to God's omnipresence and omniscience. 
It reminds us at the very beginning of the command- 
ments that He, with whom we have to do, searches 
the heart. "If we have forgotten the name of our 
God, or stretched out our hands to a strange god: 
shall not God search this out ? For he knoweth the 
secrets of the heart." Ps. xliv. 20, 21. He knows 
our down-sitting and up-rising, he understands our 
thought afar off. He compasseth our path and our 
lying down, and is acquainted with all our ways. He 
has beset us behind and before, and laid his hand 
upon us. We cannot flee from his presence. In 
heaven, in hell, in the uttermost parts of the sea, every 
where he is present. The darkness hideth not from 
him ; the night shineth as the day ; the darkness and 
the light are both alike to him. He possesses our 
reins. Every sin, therefore, and in particular every 



THE FIRST COMMANDMENT. 



105 



sin against this commandment, is committed in the 
immediate presence of God. For there is no " crea- 
ture that is not manifest in his sight : but all things 
are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with 
whom we have to do." Heb. iv. 13. e< God's under- 
standing is infinite." Ps. cxlvii. 5. Concealment 
from him is impossible. An attempt to hide ourselves 
or any thing from him is itself folly and wickedness. 
Man judges of the heart by the deed ; but God judges 
of the deed by the heart ; and he judges the heart by 
itself. To him nothing is indistinct. He never makes 
a mistake. His omniscience is infallible. This there- 
fore is a great aggravation of all iniquity, that it is per- 
petrated under the immediate eye of God, and is an 
affront offered him to his face. So he says, " Will ye 
steal, murder, and commit adultery, and swear falsely, 
and burn incense unto Baal and walk after other gods 
whom ye know not, and come and stand before me in 
this house, which is called by my name, and say, We 
are delivered to do all these abominations ?" Jer. vii. 
9, 10. It is considered an act of extraordinary im- 
pudence when men will lie, or steal, or commit lewd- 
ness in the very presence of those who are most 
wronged and insulted thereby. This principle is of 
easy application to God. 

WHAT THE FIRST COMMANDMENT REQUIRES. 

I. It requires us to have a Grod. It is not so un- 
natural for man to be without hands, or feet, or hear- 
ing, or vision, as to be without the religious sentiment. 
If man is a creature, then it is clear to reason, that 
he owes all to the Creator. If man is weak and de- 
pendent to an extent, which even the heathen them- 



106 THE FIRST COMMANDMENT. 



selves have admitted, then it is impossible to give him 
adequate strength, or meet his pressing wants, except 
by a divinity. An attempt or desire to obliterate the 
religious sentiment from the mind of ourselves or of 
others is an appalling atrocity. If it could be success- 
ful in any case, it would but sink its victim below the 
devils, for they believe and tremble. James ii. 19. 

II. This precept requires us to have Jehovah for our 
God. He is the Creator of the ends of the earth. 
He is possessed of all and infinite perfections. He is 
glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders. 
He is over all, God blessed for ever. Cleaving to him, 
saints and angels rise from glory to glory. All 
rational creatures are elevated in their natures and 
conceptions by every species of divinely appointed 
service rendered to him. His authority is acknow- 
ledged by the whole inanimate creation. Not a parti- 
cle of dust nor a solid globe, not a drop of water nor 
a mighty ocean, but is wholly subject to his will, as 
expressed in the laws of nature. All deeps, and fire, 
and hail, and snow, and vapour, and stormy wind 
fulfil his word. Yea, the dragons, and beasts and all 
cattle, and creeping things, and flying fowl are 
wholly subject to his authority. For man therefore 
to deny Jehovah's sovereignty over him is to make 
himself like the devils. From the days of Moses 
until this time, having Jehovah for our God has been 
declared fundamental in true religion, and is mighty 
in producing obedience to the other commandments, 
Ex. xv. 2 ; Ps. cxviii. 28. 

But what is it to have Jehovah for our God ? Surely 
this means much more than some decent public decla- 
ration that we take him as such. For in works, many 



THE FIRST COMMANDMENT. 



107 



deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and 
unto every good work reprobate. Titus i. 16. 

1. Whoever takes Jehovah for his God must know 
him. So important is the knowledge of God that 
often in the Scriptures it is put for the whole of re- 
ligion. Prov. ii. 5 ; Isa. xi. 9 ; Ps. xxxvi. 10, xlvi. 10. 
If it may be truly said to us as to the Samaritans, 
" Ye worship ye know not what," it is not only a 
terrible rebuke of our ignorance, but it proves that 
our religion is vain. John iv. 22. "To know God and 
Jesus Christ whom he has sent, is eternal life." John 
xvii. 3. Not to know that God is, and that he is a re- 
warder of them that diligently seek him, is subversive 
of all piety. Our knowledge must extend not only to 
his existence, but to his character. He is "the Lord, 
the Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering, 
and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy 
for thousands, forgiving iniquity, transgression and 
sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty." Ex. 
xxxiv. 6, 7. The knowledge of God is either specu- 
lative or practical. The former we may have and be 
none the better, but only the more guilty. The practi- 
cal knowledge of God is saving. It controls the heart 
and life ; it brings our moral nature into a blessed 
conformity to the truth of God ; it shows its power by 
humbling the soul. Job xl. 4, 5. It desires to bring 
others acquainted with the Most High, 1 Chron. xxviii. 

' 9, and it is valued above all the treasures of earth. 
Prov. ii. 3-5. 

2. We must confess G-od in all our ways. Ps. xlviii. 
14 ; Prov. iii. 6. We must be ready to declare, 
" Thou art our Father, though Abraham be ignorant 
of us, and Israel acknowledge us not ; thou, 0 Lord, 



108 



THE FIRST COMMANDMENT. 



art our father, our redeemer." Isa. lxiii. 16. Unless 
we are brought to the "acknowledgment of the 
mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ, in 
whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and know- 
ledge," we cannot hope for salvation. Col. ii. 2,3;Deut. 
xxvi. 17, 18. 

3. We must love God. This duty is largely insisted 
on in all the Scriptures. Jesus Christ said nothing 
more terrible to his foes, if it be rightly considered, 
than this ; "I know you that ye have not the love of 
God in you." John v. 42. Nor can anymore import- 
ant prayer be offered than this, " The Lord direct 
your hearts into the love of God." 2 Thess. iii. 5. 
Nor do the Scriptures enjoin on man any more 
weighty duty than this, " Keep yourselves in the love 
of God." Jude 21. This love, when genuine, is con- 
trolling. Many Scriptures require that we love God 
with all the heart, with all the soul, with all the mind, 
and with all the might. Deut. vi. 5, x. 12, xi. 1, 13, 
22, xix. 9, xxx. 6 ; Matt. xxii. 37 ; Mark xii. 30. 

4. The Scriptures no less clearly require us to fear 
God. Lev. xxv. 17; 1 Pet. ii. 17. Great promises 
are made to such as fear him. Eccles. viii. 12. The 
rebuke the penitent thief gave to his companion was 
in the words, "Dost not thou fear God?" One mark 
of a good man is, that he honours them that fear the 
Lord. Ps. xv. 4. While the servility of ignorance 
and unbelief may cower at the very thought of God, 
only they, that fear him after a godly sort, are ever 
ready to say, "His mercy endureth for ever." Ps. 
cxviii. 4. Nor may any religious teacher cease to 
call on the church, saying, " 0 fear the Lord, ye 
his saints : for there is no want to them that fear him." 



THE FIRST COMMANDMENT. 



109 



Ps. xxxiv. 9. All claims to true piety, unsupported 
by holy living, are false. Calvin: 4 'We manifest a 
becoming reverence for him, only when we prefer his 
will to our own. It follows then that there is no 
other legitimate worship of him, but the observance 
of righteousness, sanctity, and purity." 

5. We must obey Gfod. In the absence of hearty 
obedience, all other evidences of piety are deceptive. 
"Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt-offerings 
and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord?" 
1 Sam. xv. 22. Men perish because they will not be 
obedient. Deut. viii. 20. This test is fair. All pre- 
tences to godly fear or holy love, not accompanied by 
a spirit of prompt and cheerful obedience to the known 
will of God, will sooner or later cover us with shame. 
"Augustine sometimes calls obedience to God the 
parent and guardian, and sometimes the origin of all 
virtues." 

6. We must worship God. The essentials of wor- 
ship pleasing to God are first, That the service ren- 
dered be something commanded by himself. Secondly, 
That we adore his glorious perfections, and make 
prostrate obeisance of all our faculties before him, sub- 
mitting our understanding to his teaching, our con- 
sciences to his guidance and all our powers to be 
moulded by his Spirit. Just conceptions of the great- 
ness and majesty of God must lead all right minds to 
adoration. Thirdly, That we depend upon him, con- 
fide in him, and rely upon his power, wisdom, good= 
ness, holiness, truth, and righteousness. Fourthly, 
That we be heartily thankful and render him our 
praise for all his mercies. To the truly pious mind 
this is a delightful part of all worship. Fifthly, That 

10 



110 



THE FIRST COMMANDMENT. 



we confess our sins before him and hide not our faults 
in his presence. Sixthly, That we supplicate his 
blessing upon ourselves and all for whom we are 
bound to pray, not doubting his faithfulness, nor his 
readiness to give us all needed aid. 

All these things enter into the essence of our having 
J ehovah for our God. They imply that we believe 
in him, Heb. xi. 6; that we choose him, Josh. xxiv. 
15 ; that we hope in him, Ps. cxxx. 7 ; that we honour 
him, Mai. i. 6; that we joyfully serve him, Ps. ii. 11 ; 
that we submit to him, J ames iv. 7 ; that we humble 
ourselves under his mighty hand, 1 Pet. v. 6; that we 
devote ourselves to him, Deut. xxvi. 17; that we are 
zealous in his cause and for his glory, Rom. xii. 11; 
Rev. iii. 19; that we make it our business to please 
him, 1 Thess. iv. 1 ; that we wait for him and wait 
upon him, Ps. xxv. 3, cxxx. 5 ; that we be sorry for 
our sins, Jer. xxxi. 18, 19: that we mourn the sins 
of our fellow-men, Neh. xiii. 8 ; Ps. lxxiii. 21 ; that we 
desire God above all things, Ps. lxxiii. 25 ; that we 
delight in him, Ps. xxxvii. 4; that we think upon his 
name, Mai. iii. 16; that we meditate upon him, Ps. 
lxiii. 6 ; that we walk with him, Gen. v. 22 ; and that 
he be supreme in all our affections, 1 Chron. xxviii. 
9; Ps. xcv. 6, 7 ; Matt. iv. 10. 

This commandment requires of us these things in 
perfection. It also enjoins the use of all means that 
may promote these things in our hearts and lives, or 
in the hearts and lives of others. 

III. The first commandment requires that we should 
take the Lord Jehovah to be ouk God exclusively. 
Calvin: "The end of this precept is, that God chooses 
to have the sole pre-eminence, and to enjoy, un- 



THE FIRST COMMANDMENT. 



Ill 



diminished, his authority among his people." All 
other gods are vanities. They are no gods. They 
can neither hear, nor help, nor see, nor save. J ehovah 
is God alone. There is no God beside him; there 
is no God with him; there is no God above him; 
there is no God under him. Isa. xliv. 6, 8, xlv. 5. In 
this matter there are two errors ; one entirely disowns 
Jehovah and exclusively worships some false god or 
gods. In that case the real object of worship is 
Satan himself. He is the author of it, and his 
kingdom is built up by it. Paul says : " The 
things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice 
to devils, and not to God ; and I would not that 
ye should have fellowship with devils." 1 Cor. x. 
20. The other error consists in mingling the wor- 
ship of the true God and of false gods. So we 
read of some who " feared the Lord and yet served 
their own gods, after the manner of the nations 
whom they carried away thence." 2 Kings xvii. 33. 
Daniel's image of clay and iron had some consistence. 
But such worship as this has none whatever. By the 
prophet Zephaniah (i. 4, 5,) God declares his pur- 
pose to cut off "them that worship the host of heaven 
upon the housetops; and them that worship and that 
swear by the Lord, and by Malcham," or by their king, 
as Malcham signifies. Even Joseph in Egypt seems to 
have fallen into this sin. He swore "by the life of 
Pharaoh." Gen. xlii. 15. The great sin of such cor- 
rupt mixtures in worship arises from two things. 
One is, that God everywhere forbids it. The other is, 
that all such worship goes on the supposition that 
God is no better, or little better, than other objects to 
which we thus pay homage. Let every man beware 



112 



THE FIRST COMMANDMENT. 



lest in the day of prosperity he sacrifice unto his own 
net, and burn incense to his own drag. Hab. i. 16. 
Jehovah has as much right to be loved and worshipped 
as God alone, as to be desired and adored at all. 

Let us next consider this commandment in the 
negative form, and see 

WHAT IT FORBIDS. 

I. Anti-theism. The greatest error into which 
man can fall is the positive and affirmative con- 
clusion that there is no God. The number, who 
go this fearful length, is, perhaps, very small ; but 
that some should be given up to believe such a lie 
will surprise no one, who witnesses the diligence of 
men in corrupting themselves, and in seeking darkness 
rather than light. No man is so blind as he who does 
not wish to see. No darkness is more impenetrable 
than that in which the carnal mind envelopes itself. 
The rashness of asserting that there is no God has no 
parallel. Foster : " The wonder turns upon the great 
process by which a man would grow to the immense 
intelligence that can know there is no God. What 
ages and what lights are requisite for this attainment ! 
This intelligence involves the very attributes of 
Divinity, while a God is denied. For unless this 
man is omnipresent, unless he is at this moment in 
every place in the universe, he cannot know but that 
there may be in some place manifestations of a Deity, 
by which even he would be overpowered. If he does 
not absolutely know every agent in the universe, the 
one that he does not know may be God. If he is not 
himself the chief agent in the universe, and does not 
know what is so, that which is so may be God. » If he 



THE FIRST COMMANDMENT. 



113 



is not in absolute possession of all the propositions 
that constitute universal truth, that one which he 
wants, may be that there is a God. If he cannot with 
certainty assign the cause of all that he perceives to 
exist, that cause may be a God. If he does not know 
every thing that has been done in the immeasurable 
ages that are past, some things may have been done 
by a God. Thus unless he knows all things, that is, 
precludes another Deity, by being one himself, he • 
cannot know that the Being, whose existence he re- 
jects, does not exist." So that it can never be proven 
to be even probable, much less certain, that there is 
no God. Every assertion that he does not exist but 
evinces unequalled rashness and pretension. Finite 
intelligence can never be sure that there is no infinite 
intelligence. A being limited to a small part of one 
small world cannot safely say but that in many other 
worlds there may be incontestable proofs of divinity. 
Surely no man can elevate his character, or improve 
the knowledge or the virtue of his race, by making 
bold assertions respecting a point, on which his infor- 
mation does not bear some just proportion to the ex- 
tent of the proposition which he lays down. The 
mass of mankind will find it exceedingly difficult to 
conceive by what amazing stretch of depravity, 
one of their race should reach so monstrous a conclu- 
sion. 

II. Pantheism. The extremes often lie nearer than 
the means. Anti-theism and Pantheism are not sepa- 
rated by any great gulf. Men easily pass from one to 
the other. He, who declares that there is no God, and 
he, who declares that everything is God, have each a 
theory well-suited to the most brutal knowledge and 
10 * 



114 



THE FIRST COMMANDMENT. 



to the lowest depravity. As such a belief can spring 
from nothing but great wickedness of heart, it need sur- 
prise no one to find mankind generally avoiding avowed 
Pantheists. Yet for thousands of years there have 
been in the world men who believe that the sun, moon 
and stars, the earth, the sea and the dry land, the 
mountains and valleys, the lakes and rivers, they them- 
selves, their dogs, their swine, their cats, their turnips 
and their onions were not proofs of a divinity, but were 
divinity itself. The founder of the sect of Pantheists 
was Orpheus. At a later time, various classes of 
these errorists were found in ancient Greece and Rome. 
The most conspicuous of modern Pantheists was 
Spinoza. The last development of this monstrous 
system is found in certain transcendentalists of 
Europe and America. These wrap up their dogmas 
in modes of expression which may well be denominated 
learned gibberish. But when you are able to get hold 
of one of their thoughts, it is found to have less claim 
to profundity of thinking than Spinozism, and is en- 
tirely destitute of the frankness and candour of 
Toland and his followers, who, during the last century, 
organized themselves into a body, and set forth a 
creed, asserting that " the ethereal fire environs all 
things, and is therefore supreme. The ether is a 
reviving fire : it rules all things, it disposes all 
things. In it is soul, mind, prudence. This fire 
is Horace's particle of divine breath, and "Virgil's 
inwardly nourishing spirit. All things are com- 
prised in an intelligent nature." This is obviously 
nonsense ; but there is no serious attempt made to 
cover it up with high-sounding words. As to the 
ether here spoken of, there is simply no evidence of 



THE FIRST COMMANDMENT. 



115 



any such thing. The first trace of its existence is 
nowhere found. 

Modern Pantheists are much addicted to contempt 
of all the men and literature of the world except their 
own. They are proud and haughty scorners, and often 
in a high degree malignant. They show considerable 
zeal, and sometimes fabricate the grossest slanders 
against godliness. A few of them aim at literary and 
scientific fame, and make kigh pretensions to polite- 
ness : but the mass of their disciples are found in the 
depths of social debasement, yet full of great swelling 
words of vanity. Their grand error is of course the 
denial of the personality of God. 

III. Atheism. Atheists are of three classes: 1. 
Such as do not regard the existence of God sufli- 
ciently proven to make it an article of hearty, prac- 
tical belief; 2. Such as cannot deny that there is 
considerable, perhaps satisfactory evidence, that there 
is a God, but in their hearts really wish there was 
none; and 3. Such as live and act just as they would, 
if they believed there was no God. The first are 
called speculative atheists; the second, atheists in 
desire; the third, practical atheists. These all agree 
in this, that to all good ends and purposes they are 
"without God in the world." Atheists in desire will 
probably continue in their error until regenerated by 
the Spirit of God. Practical atheists abound. Many 
of them would be shocked if charged with atheism ; 
yet they could not live more entirely without prayer, 
and without the fear and love of God, if it was an article 
of their creed that there was no God. His laws do 
not bind them. His mercies do not attract them. 
His judgments do not correct them. They know 



116 



THE FIRST COMMANDMENT. 



nothing, but what they know naturally as brute 
beasts. It is a mournful fact in human history that 
men have been found ready to publish their want of 
belief in the divine existence, and have died for the 
maintenance of their speculations. So true is it that 
love of falsehood may be stronger than the fear of 
death. 

Lord Bacon says, that up to his time, "atheism did 
never perturb states." This was true. But since 
his time, especially within the last century, its out- 
breaks have been usually accompanied by political 
disturbances. The conversion of speculative atheists 
is of rare occurrence. Yet the power of God can 
bend the will of the most rebellious. 

The utter unprofitableness of atheism is worthy of 
special note. It takes away all, and makes no re- 
turns. If it could be incontestably proven to be true, 
it would make no man less wretched, less foolish, less 
vicious, less criminal than he is now; but on the con- 
trary it would make him every way less fit to live 
and less fit to die. It begets no lively, solid hopes. 
Its moral lessons (if it taught any) would be enforced 
by no sanctions. It is the darkest gulf, into which 
the human mind ever looked. Kevins: "If atheism 
be true, annihilation would be the object of most 
earnest longing to all thinking men." Lothrop: "If 
it were true that there is no God, what evidence can 
the atheist have that he shall not live and be miser- 
able after death? How came he to exist at all? 
Whatever was the cause of his existence here, may be 
the cause of his existence hereafter. Or, if there is 
no cause, he may exist in another state as well as 
in this. And if his corrupt heart and abominable 



THE FIRST COMMANDMENT. 



117 



works make him so unhappy here, that he would 
rather be annihilated than run the hazard of a future 
existence, what hinders but he may be unhappy for 
ever ? The man then is a fool, who wishes that there 
was no God, hoping thus to be secure from future 
misery; for, admitting that there is no God, still the 
man may exist hereafter as well as here ; and if he 
does exist, his corruptions and vices may render him 
miserable eternally as well as for the present." 

Atheism is both very stupid and very wicked. 
The case is this. The ox knoweth his owner, and the 
ass his master's crib. The sheep is a silly thing, and 
yet it knows the voice of its shepherd, and will not 
heed the voice of a stranger. But men are more 
foolish. God feeds them daily. He opens his hand 
and liberally supplies their wants. He watches them 
with more than a shepherd's care. Yet are these 
men more brutish than the beasts. They know not 
their owner. They doubt, or even deny his existence. 
Not only does the Lord provide for each of us, but 
for every living thing. Everett: "The human race 
is usually estimated at about one thousand millions 
of individuals. . . Let, then, the thoughtful husband- 
man, who desires to form just ideas, reflect, when he 
gathers his little flock about him to partake the morn- 
ing's meal, that one thousand millions of fellow-men 
have awakened from sleep that morning, craving their 
daily bread with the same appetite, which reigns at 
his family board; and that if, by a superior power, 
they could be gathered together at the same hour for 
the same meal, they would fill both sides of five 
tables, reaching all round the globe where it is broadest, 
seated side by side, and allowing eighteen inches to 



118 



THE FIRST COMMANDMENT. 



each individual; and that these tables are to be re- 
newed twice or thrice every day." Then let him 
consider that the supply of food is but a small part 
of the care of Providence over him and his, and how 
can he go away and deny his Master, and refuse to 
know his Owner and his Shepherd? 

What would be thought of a man, or company of 
men, who would accept an invitation to even one feast 
provided by a neighbour, and then go and deny not 
only his kindness, but even his existence ? Truly in- 
spiration is right when it says that such folly and 
wickedness are never found among wise men. " The 
fool hath said in his heart, There is no God." Ps. 
xiv. 1. None but a fool could be brought to say so 
vile a thing even in his heart. 

Without going at length into the proof of the divine 
existence, it may be proper to suggest something of 
the line of argument that might be pursued on this 
subject. 

1. A fair argument for the divine existence is 
drawn from the consent of mankind. This argument 
is based on the just axiom that the belief of all nations 
and of all ages must be founded in truth. The whole 
world has never yet received an error as truth. Nor is 
there one instance, in which the learned and the un- 
learned, the polished and the rude, the rich and the 
poor, the civilized, the barbarous, and the savage, have 
united to support a falsehood. It is not possible to find 
in the history of the world a notice of any people, whose 
language, rites, laws or customs did not evince their 
belief of the existence of a God. Cicero says, " There 
is no nation so savage or wild as not to know that 
there is a God." No fairer argument for a Divinity 



THE FIRST COMMANDMENT. 



119 



can be found than that stated by many a heathen, 
yea, even by many a savage. The atheist, therefore, 
sets up the conclusions of his own mind against the 
judgments of his race. For it is as rare to find a 
man, who denies the existence of a God, as to find a 
man blind, or deaf, or dumb. 

It does not weaken the force of this argument to 
; admit that the idea of a God is given from one gene- 
ration to another. Before instruction, one does not 
know how to spell the monosyllables of his own lan- 

I guage ; nor does he know the axioms of science, but 
when he is taught these things, he is a madman to 
deny them. 

i It strengthens the argument from the consent of 
mankind that the belief of a God is not to unsanctified 
men pleasing, but troublesome. It " crosses their 
worldly interests, contradicts their sensual desires, 
i deranges their joys, and torments their natural con- 
sciences." And yet no nation has ever been able to 
s persuade itself that there was no God. If the belief 
; of a Divinity is not based in irrefragable truth, why 
i cannot the delusion be shaken off? Mankind have 
j clearly shown two things ; first, that they did not like 
i to retain God in their knowledge, and secondly, that 
when they knew him, they did not glorify him as God. 
1 9 How comes it to pass then that with the whole cur- 
1 5 rent of corrupt sentiment, and wicked desires, and 

I I unholy living against true religion, men should still 
» 9 believe in a God ? There is no fair answer to this 
• Ij question, except that the truth is too obvious to admit 
5 3 of sober denial. 

t i 2. In every man's mind is something, which re- 
n proves him for evil actions, however secret or ap- 

■ 

it 



120 . , THE FIRST COMMANDMENT. 

plauded ; and commends him for right conduct, how- 
ever misunderstood or condemned. In clear cases of 
wrong-doing, there is a sense of guilt, which is always 
painful, sometimes intolerable. Many a man has 
sought death rather than endure the sting of the 
scorpion in his own bosom. Caligula confessed to the 
Roman senate that he suffered the pains of death 
every day. It is common with offenders to be in tor- 
ment. But where there is transgression, there must 
be law ; and where there is law, there must be a law- 
giver ; and who is lord of the conscience if there be no 
God ? If the world has no moral governor, how can 
this self-condemnation be accounted for ? There is 
no fairer reasoning than this : " There is a conscience 
in man; therefore, there is a Grod in heaven." So 
mighty is the power of conscience, that among men 
nothing is more dreaded than its scourgings. Nor 
can it be so obliterated by false doctrines or a course 
of crime, as not to annoy the guilty every where. 
Herod was a bloody man. In principle he was a 
Sadducee, and believed neither in angel, nor spirit, 
nor heaven, nor hell, nor in a resurrection of the dead. 
At the solicitation of a bad woman he killed one, 
whom he knew to be the best man of his day. By 
and by, Jesus began to work amazing miracles among 
the people. These caused much talk. Some said 
one thing and some another. But Herod, in the teeth 
of all his principles, said he knew all about it : " It is 
John, whom I beheaded: he is risen from the dead." 
Mark vi. 16. Atheist3 have consciences, and though 
they are ignorant, erroneous, and sometimes seared 
as with a hot iron, yet from this quarter annoyance 
arises to those, who deny, no less than to those who 



THE FIRST COMMANDMENT. 121 

own a God. No man, however debased in principle 
or behaviour, can tell what moment a drop of the 
divine wrath may fall into his soul, and the fires of 
perdition flame out from his own bosom. Every 
effect must have an adequate cause. What is the 
cause of conscience if there be no God, who is the 
author of man's moral nature ? It is evident too 
that the author of the moral nature of one race of men 
is the author of the moral nature of every race of 
men, for they are all alike. Whoever is the law- 
giver to the conscience of an American, is the law- 
giver to the conscience of the European, the Asiatic, 
and the African. It is a favourite idea of atheists 
that fear formed a God. But if there is no God, why 
should all men fear him ? It would be much nearer 
the truth to say that fear formed atheists. The good 
fear not that there is a God, but would be dismayed 
if they even doubted his existence. It is the wicked 
who flee when no man pursueth. A dreadful sound is 
in his ears. Terrors take hold of him as waters. 
God casts upon him and does not spare. Conscience 
stands a great bulwark against wickedness, and no 
Jess against atheism. 

3. All creation says, There is a God, a God of 
power, wisdom and goodness. The blazing universe 
above us. Is it without a cause ? About a thousand 
years before the Christian era, lived a Hebrew king 
and poet. In early life he had been a shepherd-boy, 
and had watched the motions of the heavenly bodies. 
Later in life he had been a fugitive from home, being 
pursued to the wilderness by his cruel and jealous 
monarch. There too he had seen how the azure vault 
above was all bespangled with gems brighter than 
11 



122 THE FIRST COMMANDMENT. 

ever had been set in earthly crowns. By and by he 
seized his pen and wrote: "The heavens declare the 
glory of God; and the firmament showeth his handy- 
work. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto 
night showeth knowledge. There is no speech nor 
language, where their voice is not heard. Their line 
is gone out into all the earth, and their words to the 
end of the world. In them hath he set a tabernacle 
for the sun, which is as a bridegroom coming out of 
his chamber, and rejoiceth as a strong man to run a 
race. His going forth is from the end of the heaven, 
and his circuit unto the ends of it: and there is 
nothing hid from the heat thereof." Are not such 
views just, pure, elevating ? Do they not commend 
themselves to every man ? 

Seven hundred years later lived the great man of 
Stagira, whose philosophy ruled the reasonings of men 
almost without interruption for nineteen hundred 
years. He wrote on logic, on ethics, on poetry, on 
politics, on physics, and on metaphysics. Among all 
his voluminous writings there is none more deserving 
of commendation than that commended by Cicero as 
"noble." Aristotle says: "If there were beings who 
had always lived underground, in convenient, nay, 
magnificent dwellings, adorned with statues and pic- 
tures, and every thing which belongs to prosperous 
life, but who had never come above ground, — who had 
heard, however, by fame and report, of the power of 
God, — if at a certain time, the portals of the earth 
being thrown open, they had been able to emerge 
from those hidden abodes to the regions inhabited by 
us ; when suddenly they had seen the earth, the seas, 
and the sky ; had perceived the vastness of the clouds 



THE FIRST COMMANDMENT. 



123 



and the force of the winds ; had contemplated the sun, 
his magnitude and his beauty, and still more his 
effectual power, that it is he who makes the day by 
the diffusion of his light through the sky ; and, when 
night had darkened the earth, should then behold the 
whole heavens studded and adorned with stars, and 
the various lights of the waxing and waning moon, the 
risings and the settings of all these heavenly bodies, 
and their courses fixed and immutable in all ages ; 
when, I say, they should see these things, truly they 
would believe in a God, and that these things are his 
works." 

The bard of Bethlehem, who had been educated in 
the law of Moses, and who was the father of the 
wisest of mere men, and the philosopher of Stagira, 
who had been the tutor of Alexander the Great, 
though differing in a thousand other things, did not 
fail to see alike in this, that all we see, when we lift 
up our eyes, by day or by night, declares that this 
world had a divine author. 

Seeds. Have they no maker? All kinds of grass 
and grain, most kinds of roots and trees, of shrubs 
and plants, are propagated by seeds. Some of these 
are large, but most of them are small. Their shape 
and appearance are exceedingly diverse; but each of 
them contains a germ, in which is the vital princi- 
ple. Men can make things which look like these 
seeds ; but all the chemical skill and physical power 
of men cannot produce one germ. It is as much be- 
yond created power to form a seed with the vital 
principle in it as to form a solar system. Yet from 
the creation to this day men have beheld the wonders 
of divine skill and energy in the production of myriads 



124 



THE FIRST COMMANDMENT. 



of seeds in every acre on earth not doomed to sterility. 
In this matter nothing is more surprising than the 
amazing fecundity of plants. A few years ago a 
farmer saw one stool of wheat springing up in the 
cleft of a rock. He thought there was something re- 
markable about it. When it was ripe he gathered it, 
and at the right season sowed it again. It has pro- 
duced millions of bushels already. Most seeds too 
have a tenacity of life that is amazing. Wheat has 
grown and produced its kind three thousand years 
after it had been stored away. Seeds have been 
found more than a hundred feet under ground, which 
seemed to have been formed many ages before, and 
yet when exposed to the action of moisture, ah*, and 
the light and heat of the sun, have grown vigor- 
ously. 

Insects. Have they no Maker ? If they have, he 
is God. Plato believed there was a God, because all 
the world could not make a fly. Yet he who has 
made the fly has made it capable of propagating its 
kind. The product of a common house-fly in one 
season is over twenty millions. Some spiders produce 
nearly two thousand eggs. There are six or seven 
generations of gnats in a season, and each one lays 
two hundred and fifty eggs. A single bee is said to 
produce in one season a hundred thousand of its o^vn 
kind. The eggs of insects, in some cases, retain the 
vital principle for a long time. Dr. Bright informed 
the world of the case of an egg that produced an in- 
sect eighty years after it must have been laid. And 
how wondrously these creatures are formed. Spiders 
have four paps for spinning their webs. Each pap 
has a thousand holes. The fine web itself is a cord 



THE FIRST COMMANDMENT. 



125 



made of four thousand strands. The spinning jenny 
is a coarse and rude thing compared with the amazing 
machinery of the spider. Nor can man make any 
thing of such amazing elasticity and durability as are 
found in the spider's web. The late Dr. Mitchell 
showed me, as connected with the most delicate por- 
tion of the machinery of the observatory at Cincin- 
nati, Ohio, one piece of spider's web which had been 
stretched three hundred and ninety-five thousand 
times, and yet when the tension was off, it contracted 
to its wonted length. The numbers of insects found 
even in a small space is almost incredible. A pound 
of cochineal contains 70,000 insects. A German 
naturalist has discovered in the space of ten miles 
square 600 species of insects injurious to the growth 
of grain. Captain Buford saw near Smyrna in 1841 
a cloud of locusts forty-six miles long and three hun- 
dred yards deep. The least insect examined with a 
proper microscope shows as great wonders in its 
structure as are detected in creatures that can be well 
examined with the naked eye. Have not these little 
creatures a Creator? May not a wise man walk 
through this portion of the kingdom of nature, and 
be justified in exclaiming at every step, " How mani- 
fold are thy works, O Lord ; in wisdom hast thou made 
them all?" 

The fishes and monsters of the sea. Have 
they no Maker ? We are amazed at the fecundity of 
the finny tribes. The roe of a mackerel has been 
found to contain half a million of eggs ; that of a 
flounder, about a million and a half ; that of a codfish 
as many as nine millions. The whole watery world 
is teeming with life. Is there no presiding Deity here ? 
11 * ' . 



126 THE FIRST COMMANDMENT. 

The intelligent reader can pursue like trains of 
thought respecting the fowls of heaven. The feathers 
of those which are designed to be much on the wing 
are remarkably light, and their bones are hollow. Is 
not this a display of creative wisdom ? 

The beasts of the field, the beasts of the mountain, 
and the beasts of the desert would all in their turn 
furnish amazing illustrations of the creative skill of 
Him who made all things. 

The existence of man, with his varied powers, the 
existence of society, with its untold resources and com- 
plications, the organization of plants and minerals, in 
short every thing in nature, when rightly considered, 
show that there must be a great First Cause. It can 
be shown that the little chip of granite required a 
Creator as truly as a living organism. He, there- 
fore, who denies the being of a God, flies in the face 
of all science, of all creation, of all the facts in the 
case. Nor can such monstrous folly be accounted for 
without the belief of great depravity. " The carnal 
mind is enmity against God" — reveals the first great 
cause of atheism. But sometimes the human mind 
in casting off prejudices does not distinguish between 
them and truths, and so rejects both the vile and the 
precious together. Sometimes long, unbroken health 
and prosperity lead to the same result. Men feel no 
changes, and they say all things are stable of them- 
selves, and that there is no God. 

Health chiefly keeps an atheist in the dark ; 

A fever argues better than a Clarke ; 

Let but the logic in his pulse decay, 

The Grecian he'll renounce, and learn to pray. Young. 

Sloth is another fruitful source of atheism. " The 



THE FIRST COMMANDMENT. 



127 



sluggard is wiser in his own conceit than seven men 
that can render a reason." It is no trifling task to 
arouse men from their natural torpor respecting divine 
things. A bold and dasTiing spirit of speculation 
misleads others. They are ruined by their self-con- 
ceit. Others affect great singularity, and wish to be 
distinguished from all around them. This wind has 
blown many into hell. Atheism will ruin any com- 
munity. It dissolves all the bonds of society. A 
great truth is quaintly but forcibly expressed by old 
Arthur Golding, when he commends " true Relygion, 
true Godlynesse, true Vertue, wythout the whych 
neyther force, policie, nor friendship are of any value, 
neyther can any common weale, any citie, anyhouse- 
holde, or any company bee wel gouerned, or haue any 
stable or long continuance." It is as true of States 
as of persons, that they who despise God shall be 
lightly esteemed. All, who rear their fabrics on un- 
righteousness, are but preparing for a fearful over- 
throw. The higher they rise, the more dreadful will 
be their fall. 

The wickedness of atheism is truly dreadful. It 
subverts all religion ; it makes it impossible for a man 
even to pray without stultifying himself. Aristotle 
said : "He, that does not confess a Deity, is not fit 
to live." Cogan: "A female atheist would to all 
mankind be a more hideous object than a female, 
whose face was covered with carbuncles." Yet the 
sin of atheism is not to be searched for in the sex of 
those who embrace it. It is found in the dreadful 
wickedness of heart, which can cherish such vile notions, 
and deny the being of a God. Shall the universe 
blush to own its Author ? Shall a worm be ashamed 



128 



THE FIRST* COMMANDMENT. 



to confess him who made it, and keeps it, and feeds it, 
and renders its existence a blessing ? 

Lord Bacon says, " God never wrought a miracle 
to convince an atheist." The reason is the best in 
the world. He, who believes that the whole order of 
nature was established without an Infinite Cause, 
would easily believe that the laws of nature were sus- 
pended in the same manner. So that he, who will 
shut his eyes against the light before him, must con- 
tinue in his blindness till he perishes in his own cor- 
ruption. 

IV. Idolatry. Another sin forbidden in the first 
commandment is idolatry, which is committed when 
we direct religious worship to any but the true God 
alone, or when we ascribe to persons or things proper- 
ties peculiar to God, or when we unduly set the affec- 
tions of our hearts upon any creature. Idolatry may 
exist in men's opinions, as when they believe that 
some divinity is found in the creatures of God, or in 
creatures of their own imaginations, as when men invest 
the gods of the heathen, or saints, or angels, or places, 
or things, with properties and powers, that belong to 
God only. Such are in doctrine idolaters. Some- 
times idolatry is merely practical, as when men set 
up themselves, their own elevation, their covetousness, 
their pleasures, their aggrandizement, or their ease, 
above all the obligations of religious duty. The 
Bible throws no covering over any species of idolatry. 
He, who worships the sun, the moon or stars, does as 
truly sin against God as he, who worships a farthing 
rush-light. He, who worships saints or angels, does 
as truly insult the Most High, as he who worships 
debauchees and devils. For the essence of the sin of 



THE FIRST COMMANDMENT. 



129 



idolatry is found in putting the creature in place of 
the Creator. If he shall be punished who worships a 
snake, shall he escape God's displeasure who worships 
yellow dust, called gold, or sinful pleasures, or the 
breath of worms, uttered in applause ? It is very 
true that some forms of idolatry are more gross and 
shocking to the sensibilities of men than others. But 
in the gorgeous ceremony or in the secret observance 
of idolatrous rites, God may be as justly offended as 
in the most shameless and bloody practices. 

There are two entirely different classes of objects, 
toward which we may practise idolatry, open or secret. 
We may desire the wages of unrighteousness, and be 
greedy of filthy lucre. That is all sinful from begin- 
ning to end. That, which God has absolutely for- 
bidden, in all cases and at all times, is then lusted 
after. Or, we may be guilty of idolatry by an inor- 
dinate affection to lawful gains, and wealth obtained 
by means which men esteem honourable. An idol 
may, therefore, be something which we love, although 
we are forbidden to love it at all ; or, it may be some- 
thing which it is lawful to love in moderation, but 
which we love excessively. In either case, we set 
up some object before our affections in a way which 
draws our hearts from God. Whenever we esteem, or 
honour, or love, or fear, or serve, or obey, or confide 
in any person, or thing, or opinion, more than in God, 
or in any way that interferes with our duty to God, 
then we are guilty of idolatry. To whatever, or to 
whomsoever we yield obedience, we are servants unto 
that which we obey. Rom. vi. 16. When we put so 
high a value upon our ease, or houses, or lands, or 
husband, or wife, or children, or parents, or stations, 



130 



THE FIRST COMMANDMENT. 



or offices, or public favour, as that we pine away in 
rebellion against God at their loss, we do, by our con- 
duct, cry out as Micah, "Ye have taken away my 
gods, and what have I more ?" All things that perish 
in the using are dangerous to our souls, when, in ap- 
prehending our loss of them, we hold our remaining 
mercies, the promises of the gospel, and the adorable 
Trinity, as of little value to us. The same is true 
when we are ready to make use of unlawful or doubt- 
ful means for regaining what we have lost. 

Much idolatry is committed by unduly setting our 
affections on the things of this world. The Bible is 
explicit in stating that the covetous man is an idola- 
ter, Eph. v. 5 ; and that covetousness is idolatry, Col. 
iii. 5. It further teaches that this love of the world 
cannot co-exist with true piety. "Love not the 
world, neither the things that are in the world. If 
any man love the world, the love of the Father is not 
in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the 
flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, 
is not of the Father, but is of the world." 1 John ii. 
15, 16. This love of the world sometimes breaks out 
in atrocious wickedness, as when it leads to theft, or 
forgery, or murder. So intent was Ahab on Naboth's 
vineyard that he would not rest till the dogs licked 
up his blood. Demas apostatized from Christianity, 
that he might secure the gains of idolatry in a heathen 
temple. Again, this love of the world greatly weakens 
our courage, and diminishes our zeal, and makes us 
languid in the service of God. This is the prevailing 
sin of multitudes in Christian countries. It often 
happens that even good men are not " valiant for the 
truth." Jer. ix. 3. Then their course of conduct 



THE FIRST COMMANDMENT. 



131 



concerning the interests of religion is vacillating, and 
they do not exert all the authority with which they 
are invested to put down wickedness. Thus Eli said 
to his sons, "It is no good report that I hear : ye 
make the Lord's people to transgress." 1 Sam. ii. 24. 
But he "restrained them not." This love of the 
world, uncured and unrepented of, will work the ruin 
of any soul. It is as true that the covetous shall not 
be saved, as that fornicators, idolaters, adulterers, 
effeminate, sodomites, thieves, drunkards, revilers, 
and extortioners shall be excluded from the kingdom 
of God. 1 Cor. vi. 9. Wealth may cause the wicked 
to be envied by fools, courted by sycophants, and ap- 
plauded by the multitude ; but all his gains will not 
help him in the day of wrath. They cannot cure a 
pain of body, nor relieve a pang of mind. In death, so 
far from comforting him, his wealth often adds terrors 
to the event. And in judgment and eternity all his 
earthly possessions will be but as fuel to kindle the 
fires of Tophet. For the riches of the wicked shall 
eat their flesh as it were fire. They have heaped 
treasure together against the last day. James v. 3. 
Sometimes idolatry assumes the form of trust in some- 
thing besides God. " Some trust in chariots and some 
in horses," Ps. xx. 7; some make "gold their hope, 
or say to the fine gold, "Thou art my confidence," 
Job xxxi. 24 ; some " have pleasure in the legs of a 
man," Ps. cxlvii. 10 ; some expect to be " saved by 
the multitude of an host," Ps. xxxiii. 16 ; some in sick- 
ness "seek not to the Lord, but to the physicians," 
2 Chron. xvi. 12 ; some expect ease and quiet and a 
happy life through the " much goods which they have 
laid up for many years," Luke xii. 19 ; some, despair- 



132 



THE FIRST COMMANDMENT. 



ing of help from God, betake themselves to those that 
have familiar spirits," 1 Sam. xxviii. 7-14. All these 
practise a form of idolatry. They put a creature in 
the place of God. They rely upon means and instru- 
ments instead of the almighty agent. Let none trust 
in uncertain riches, but in the living God. " Cease 
ye from man, whose breath is in his nostrils ; for 
wherein is he accounted of?" Isa. ii. 22. 

It is no less idolatry to be greatly afraid of man, 
or of the power of any creature. Our business is to 
sanctify the Lord of hosts himself, and let him be our 
fear, and let him be our dread. Isa. viii. 13. It 
is as true now, as in former days, that " the fear of 
men bringeth a snare." Prov. xxix. 25. We cannot 
expect to please God and do our duty until we can 
say, "I will not be afraid what man can do unto 
me;" " The Lord is my strength ; of whom shall I be 
afraid?" Ps. xxvii. 1. "I will not be afraid of ten 
thousands of people, that have set themselves against 
me round about." Ps. iii. 6. So that if we suffer for 
righteousness' sake, we may count ourselves happy. 
Let us never be afraid of the terror of man, neither 
be troubled. 1 Pet. iii. 14. What sad work the fear 
of man made among some who believed on Christ, and 
yet did not own him, may be learned from John xii. 
42, 43. Even Peter, who truly loved him, and who 
seems to have been habitually intrepid, was more than 
once led into great errors by his fear of man. Mark 
xiv. 66-72; Gal. ii. 11-13. " 

Sometimes men give themselves up to a service, 
which is practical idolatry. When we seek to please 
men, we are not the servants of Christ. Gal. i. 10. 
When we expect to be able to serve both God and 



THE FIRST COMMANDMENT. 



133 



mammon, we miserably deceive ourselves. Cares and 
engagements, which so engross our time as to leave 
none for God's service, which make such demands 
upon our exertions a& to leave us unfitted for devo- 
tions public and private, which fill us with excessive 
solicitude and carry us away far from the paths of 
simple and earnest piety, do make us idolaters. 

The objects of practical idolatry are many, and 
wholly undeserving of our warm affection. When a 
man goes forth, crying, "Who will show us any 
good? Ps. iv. 6, he is a candidate for shame, and is 
on the high road to idolatry. When one is devoted 
to his appetite, he is already an idolater. Phil. iii. 19. 
When a man believes that the chief end of his exist- 
ence is to provide the means of gratifying the appe- 
tites of himself and his dependents, and is content 
with a portion in this life, if he and his can be filled 
with God's hid treasure, he is already an undone 
man. Ps. xvii. 14. Repentance alone can rescue him 
from an eternal overthrow. When we set an undue 
value upon our own bodily endowments, as strength, 
beauty, or agility ; or upon our mental faculties, as 
memory, imagination, reason, wit, or judgment ; or 
on our acquirements, as skill, learning, or eloquence, 
then we make idols of these things. When Herod 
received the gross flatteries of the people, and gloried 
in his eloquence, he was eaten of worms and gave up 
the ghost. When the daughters of Zion were haughty, 
and walked with stretched-forth necks and wanton 
eyes, walking and mincing as they went, they were 
but preparing themselves for the day of evil, when 
the Lord should take away the bravery of their tink- 
ling ornaments, and untold calamities should be 
12 



134 



THE FIRST COMMANDMENT. 



poured upon them. Isa. iii. 16-26. How many too 
have an idolatrous regard to their good name and 
credit among men. They seem as if they would 
rather be out of the world than out of public 
favour. They are lovers of themselves and lovers of 
pleasures more than lovers of God. They are high- 
minded. 2 Tim. iii. 2-4; Rom. xi.20. The least thing 
that goes cross to their ambitious desires, causes them 
to display the very temper of Haman, the son of 
Hammedatha, the Agagite, the Jews' enemy. They 
are ready to inflict vengeance on any who cringe not 
before their brief authority. Hare: "In short, there 
are idols for the worldly-minded, and idols for the 
generous, — idols for the intemperate, and idols for 
the prudent : there are idols for the affectionate ; and 
again there is an idol for the selfish ; young and old 
have their idols; married and unmarried have their 
idols; rich and poor have their idols." 

Self-will is the idol of many. To the will of God 
they are wholly unsubmissive. Should God take 
from them half the temporal blessings he has heaped 
upon them, yea, if he should take but one of a thou- 
sand of their mercies from them, you would never 
find them adopting the language of Job, " The Lord 
gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the 
name of the Lord." Job i. 21. They never say like 
the suffering Redeemer, "Not my will, but thine be 
done," 0 God. Luke xxii. 42. Their will is directly 
counter to the will of God. They are of course idola- 
ters. 

Self-righteousness is also idolatry. It dares to put 
the morality, the prayers, the repentance, the ortho- 
doxy, the zeal, the profession of religion, the ordi- 



THE FIRST COMMANDMENT. 



135 



nances of the gospel, the rites of religion, in the place 
of the infinite merits of the Son of God. If the self- 
righteous are right, the Son of God lived and died in 
vain. How many give to works, all over defiled, the 
honour, which is due to the spotless righteousness of 
Christ alone. 

Against nothing is true religion more determinately 
set than against idolatry. When the evangelical 
prophet foretells the increase of Messiah's government, 
he says, 66 The Lorol alone shall be exalted in that 
day." The very next words are, <( And the idols he 
shall utterly abolish." Isa. ii. 17, 18. Again God 
calls, "Repent, and turn from your idols." Ezek. xiv. 
6. When Hosea describes Israel as healed of his 
backslidings, he makes him say, "What have I to do 
any more with idols?" Hosea xiv. 8. But how little 
are the admonitions of Scripture heeded ! Even Paul 
may cry, "What fellowship hath righteousness with 
unrighteousness ? and what communion hath light with 
darkness? and what concord hath Christ with Belial? 
or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel ? 
and what agreement hath the temple of God with 
idols?" 2 Cor. vi. 14-16. Yet how few are thereby 
moved to holy living ! When inspired writers wish to 
compare an act with some heinous sin, they sometimes 
liken it to idolatry. "Rebellion is as the sin of 
witchcraft, ancl stubbornness is as iniquity and 
idolatry." 1 Sam. xv. 23. And often do they call 
idolatry by the names of treachery and whoredom. 
Jer. iii. 6-11. Compare parallel places. If any 
would see further the enormity of this sin, and the 
dreadfulness of its punishment, let him examine Eph. 
v. 5; Rev. ix. 20, 21; xxi. S 3 and parallel passages. 



136 THE FIRST COMMANDMENT. 

The end of some of the idolaters of this world has 
been exceedingly dreadful. One great British min- 
ister, when he came to die, said, "Had I but served 
my God, as I have my sovereign, he would not have 
left me thus." Another, no less distinguished, said, 
"I have always had my mind so occupied with the 
various affairs of the nation that I have had no time 
to examine Christianity or any other system of reli- 
gion." "How can ye believe," said Jesus Christ, 
"who receive honour one of another, and seek not 
the honour that cometh from God only?" 

Durham thus answers the question, "What idols 
are the most subtil?" 

"1. An idol is then most subtil when it lurketh in 
the heart, and seateth itself principally in men's mind, 
aim and inward contentment, and they inwardly 
ascribe too much to such a thing, and yet it may be 
in their external practice, there is not much to dis- 
cover this. 

"2. Then are idols most subtil, when they lie in 
those things to which somewhat of fear, love, delight, 
&c, is allowable ; as in lawful things, which may in 
some measure be lawfully loved, feared, and sought 
for. 

"3. When they are in negatives, as in omissions, 
ease, &c, then they are more subtil than when they 
lie in something men positively seek after, or in the 
commission of something forbidden. 

"4. When they pass under a lawful name, as when 
pride goeth under the name of honesty, anxiety under 
the name of lawful care, &c, then they are hardly 
discovered. 

"5. When, sticking to one idol, the man rejecteth 



THE FIRST COMMANDMENT. 



13T 



all others, (as he conceiveth) out of respect to God; 
as may be instanced in the cases of a monastic life, 
regular obedience, some singular opinion so much 
stuck to, and laid weight on by many. 

"6. When it is in means that have been used, or 
are allowed by God for attaining such an end ; as it 
is hard to keep bounds in this case, so it is hard to 
discover the idolatry of the heart in it." 

In the idolatry which adopts the heathen mythology, 
and erects temples to false gods, there is something 
so sottish. and so debasing that it is a marvel men 
should ever fall into it. But as those who are likely 
to read this book are probably not worshippers of 
Jupiter, or Mars, or Budha, and as the denunciations 
of spiritual idolatry already cited are no less applica- 
ble to the grosser forms, the subject is here dismissed, 
with the simple declaration of our Saviour, "Thou 
shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt 
thou serve." Matt. iv. 10. Compare Deut. vi. 13, 14; 
x. 20; Josh. xxiv. 14; 1 Sam. vii. 3. 

IS THE CHURCH OF ROME IDOLATROUS? 

This is a very solemn and practical question. In 
all countries nominally Christian, Romanism is urging 
her claims. Every man must examine and decide for 
himself. 

In discussing the question, let us accept the defini- 
nition of idolatry given by Cardinal Wiseman in his 
thirteenth lecture. " It is the giving to man, or to 
any thing created, that homage, that adoration and 
that worship, which God hath reserved unto himself." 
The church of Rome openly, habitually, and system- 
atically gives to creatures honours, veneration, and 
12 • 



138 



THE FIRST COMMANDMENT. 



worship due to God alone ; and thus she is guilty of 
idolatry. This is a grave charge. No good man can 
make it without sorrow of heart. 

I. The church of Rome, in ascribing to the Pope 
titles and powers peculiar to God, is guilty of idolatry. 
Some of these he has claimed, and all of them he has 
accepted from his followers. In a great Later an 
Council, one member, says Barrow, called him " Prince 
of the world;" another, "King of Jdngs, and Mon- 
arch of the earth;" another said of him, that "he 
had all power above all powers of heaven and earth." 
Bishop Newton says, " The Pope is styled and pleased 
to be styled ' Our Lord God the Pope, another God 
upon earth, King of kings and Lord of lords. The 
same is the dominion of God and the Pope. The 
power of the Pope is greater than all created power, 
and extends itself to things celestial, terrestrial and 
infernal. The Pope doth whatsoever he listeth, even 
things unlawfully, and is more than God.' " Cardi- 
nal Bellarmin says, " If the Pope could or should so 
far err as to command the practice of vice, and to 
forbid virtuous actions, the church were bound to be- 
lieve vices to' be good and virtue to be bad." Here, 
at the very threshold of this discussion, we are shocked 
by these amazing claims and by the idolatry which 
concedes them. Is not here that Wicked One, " who 
opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called 
God, or that is worshipped ; so that he, as God, sitteth 
in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God ?" 
2 Thess. ii. 4. Verily, it looks so much like the ful- 
filment of the prediction of Paul that while the world 
stands, we shall not find a more exact likeness. Can 
these men have well considered the words of that 



THE FIRST COMMANDMENT. 



139 



faultless young man, Elihu ? (Job xxxii. 21, 22.) " Let 
me not, I pray you, accept any man's person, neither 
let me give nattering titles unto man. For I know 
not to give flattering titles ; in so doing my Maker 
would soon take me away." 

II. In his turn, the Pope himself gives to a crea- 
ture honours peculiar to God. In his first Encyclical 
letter, Pope Gregory XVI., who died but a few years 
ago, addressing all Patriarchs, Primates, Archbishops 
and Bishops, speaking of the Virgin Mary, calls upon 
the clergy to implore " that she, who has been, 
through every great calamity, our Patroness and Pro- 
tectress, may watch over us, writing to you, and lead 
our mind by her heavenly influence to those counsels 
which may prove most salutary to Christ's flock." In 
this matter of guidance, could Gregory have asked 
more from God himself ? From the Bible we learn 
that He, whose eyes never slumber nor sleep, is a pre- 
sent help in trouble ; but here the Pope says that Mary 
is " our Protectress through every great calamity." 
He adds, " But that all may have a successful and 
happy issue, let us raise our eyes to the Most Blessed 
Virgin Mary, who alone destroys heresies, who is our 
greatest hope, yea, the entire ground of our hope." 
This is plain. Whoever maintains truth by destroy- 
ing heresies, and is our greatest hope, yea, the entire 
ground of our hope, is to us a God. What pious man 
ever put higher honour upon Jehovah himself, than 
by making Him his greatest hope, yea, the entire ground 
of his hope $ 

III. In full accordance with the Pope's declaration, 
are the books of devotion common in that communion. 
In them Mary is called upon more frequently than 



140 



THE FIRST COMMANDMENT. 



the Father, Son and Holy Ghost. In the " Catholic 
Manual," published by Fielding Lucas, Baltimore, 
with the approbation of Archbishop Whitfield, occur 
the following in the Confiteor : "I confess to Al- 
mighty God, to blessed Mary, ever Virgin, to blessed 
Michael, the Archangel, to blessed John the Baptist, 
to the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul, and to all the 
saints that I have sinned," &c. How this differs 
from the practice of holy men of old ! Daniel (ix. 4, 5,) 
said : a O Lord, the great and dreadful God, ... we 
have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have 
done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by departing 
from thy precepts and from thy judgments." Ad- 
dressing Jehovah, David said (Ps. xxxii. 5,) "I ac- 
knowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have 
I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions 
unto the Lord ; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my 
sin." Again he says to God, " Against thee, thee only, 
have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight." Ps. li. 
4. The publican prayed, u God, be merciful to me, a 
sinner." Romanists say their religion is older than 
ours, but Daniel and David and the justified Publican 
lived before either Pope or Papist. 

Having finished the confession of sin, a Christian 
would have thought the proper application would have 
been first and alone to God. That was the course 
pursued by the worthies above named, and by Ezra. 

But in the Catholic Manual it is different. There 
we read thus : " Therefore, I beseech the blessed 
Mary, ever Virgin, the blessed Michael the Arch- 
angel, the blessed John the Baptist, the Holy Apos- 
tles Peter and Paul, and all the saints to pray to the 
Lord our God for me." Then follow two short peti- 



THE FIRST COMMANDMENT. 



141 



tions to God, and then this invocation : " 0 Holy 
Virgin, Mother of God ! my Advocate and Patroness ! 
pray for thy poor servant, and show thyself a mother 
to me." Our Saviour taught us to pray to our Father 
, which is in heaven, but when did the Lord direct us to 
pray to our mother in heaven ? Such idolatry is not 
taught by inspired men. In the Douay Bible (1 John 
ii. 1,) are these words : " If any man sin, we have an 
Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ, the just;" 
but in the Manual, every one is taught to call Mary 
" My Advocate," and to seek her intercession. How 
then is the Romish doctrine older than ours ? We 
agree with John in having but one " Advocate with 
the Father," and him " the Father heareth always." 
He is able, lie is willing, he is Jesus Christ the 
righteous. 

The next thing in the Manual is in these words : 
"And thou, 0 blessed Spirit!" The word Spirit is 
printed as above. One would have thought the 
address was now surely to God. But it is not so. 
" And thou, 0 blessed Spirit, whom God in his mercy 
hath appointed to watch over me, intercede for me 
this day, that I may not stray from the path of virtue." 
If any ask, What does this mean ? he may look back 
a little and see that it is an invocation of your angel 
guardian. The next words are these : " Thou also, 
0 happy Spirit, whose name I bear, pray for me," &c. 
Listen to the Douay Bible. (1 Tim. ii. 5.) " There 
is one God, and one Mediator of God and men, the 
man Christ Jesus." This text is as plainly opposed 
to many mediators as it is to many gods. Yet the 
Manual teaches that we are to pray to our angel 
guardian and to the saint whose name we bear to 



142 THE FIRST COMMANDMENT. 

mediate in our behalf. Christ has no higher glory 
than that which belongs to him as Mediator. To rob 
him of that or any part of it is as wicked as to rob 
God of the honour of creating the world. In the 
Douay Bible (Heb. iv. 15, 16,) we have these words : 
" We have not an High Priest, who cannot have 
compassion on our infirmities ; but one tempted in all 
things like as we are, yet without sin. Let us go, 
therefore, with confidence to the throne of grace; that 
we may obtain mercy,and find grace in seasonable 
aid." Thanks be unto God, who has taught us this 
best, this only way. But does it look like coming 
"with confidence" to stand off, and cry to Mary, to 
Michael, to John the Baptist, to Peter and Paul and 
others, and ask them to intercede for us»? Paul told 
us to "look to Jesus," and to flee for refuge to the 
hope set before us in the gospel. The Douay Bible 
(Heb. vii. 25,) says of Jesus, " He is able also to 
save for ever them that come unto God by himself; 
always living to make intercession for us." If we 
are to come to God by Jesus himself \ we are not to 
come by his mother, or by any other creature. 
Blessed be God, that when Jesus was yet with us, he 
said : "I am the way, the truth, and the life : no 
man cometh unto the Father, but by me." " I am the 
door." "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that 
entereth not by the door into the sheep-fold but 
climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and 

robber." And yet in the Manual we read, " 0 
Holy Mother of God ! deliver us from all dangers." 

On the 45th page is an address to Mary, in which 
&he is styled " the bright Queen of heaven." The 
title Queen of heaven is found in Jer. xliv. 17, 25, 26. 



THE FIRST COMMANDMENT. 



143 



But it is in an alarming connection. God there de- 
clares his displeasure against the people for "making 
vows to the Queen of heaven." In the Douay Bible 
is a note on this passage, saying that the moon is here 
meant. That is true, but Mary is just as much a 
creature as the moon. On the next page, she is ad- 
dressed thus : " 0 Holy Mother ! My Sovereign 
Queen, receive me under thy blessed patronage, and 
special protection, and into the bosom of thy mercy, 
this day and every day, and at the hour of my death. 
I recommend to thee my soul and body, I commit to 
thy care all my hopes and comforts, all my afflictions 
and miseries, my life and my death, that by thy in- 
tercession and through thy merits, all my actions may 
be directed ancl disposed according to thy will and the 
will of thy blessed Son." As man, Christ never off- 
ered higher worship to God than when in death he 
said, " Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit." 
Luke xxiii. 46. Christ in glory never received 
higher worship from a holy martyr than when dying 
Stephen said, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." Yet 
in this Manual, all this honour and this worship are 
offered to Mary. 

The same book abounds with like evidences of idola- 
try. The same is true of the Ursuline Manual ; and 
of all the formularies of worship designed for private 
use among the members of this communion. A very 
✓ favourite book among Catholics for some time past is 
entitled, " The Glories of Mary, Mother of God," &c. 
Its author is St. Alphonsus Liguori. The edition 
at hand was published by Eugene Cummiskey of Phil- 
adelphia, and has the approval of Bishop Kenrick. 
The translator dedicates the work to Mary, " the 



144 



THE FIRST COMMANDMENT. 



Queen of Angels and of Men," with "all veneration 
and respect," and says it is " designed to increase the 
number and fervour of her clients." Here is the table 
of contents. Chapter I. "How great should be our 
confidence in Mary Queen of Mercy. How great our 
confidence should be in Mary as our mother. The 
great love borne us by Mary our mother. Mary is 
the refuge of repentant sinners. Chapter II. Mary 
is our life, since she obtains us the pardon of our 
sins. Mary is our life, because she obtains our per- 
severance. Mary renders death sweet to her servants. 
Chapter III. Mary is the hope of all the children of 
Adam. Mary is the hope of the sinner. Chapter IV. 
Mary's readiness to assist those who invoke her. The 
power of Mary to defend those who invoke her in 
temptations. Chapter V. Necessity of Mary's inter- 
cession in order to obtain salvation. Continuation of 
the same subject. Chapter "VI. Mary is a powerful 
Advocate. Mary is a compassionate Advocate. Mary 
is mediatrix of peace between God and sinners. 
Chapter VII. Mary is ever watchful to succour our 
miseries. Chapter VIII. Mary preserves her servants 
from hell. Mary succours her servants in purgatory. 
Mary conducts her servants to heaven. Chapter IX. 
The greatness of Mary's clemency and goodness. 
Chapter X. The sweetness of the holy name of Mary 
in life and in death." The filling up of these chap- 
ters in sections is of the same shocking kind with 
what you would expect from this table of contents. 

So also in "the Psalter of the Virgin" we find the 
last two Psalms of David thus thrown into parody, 
and applied to Mary instead of Jehovah : " Sing 
unto our Lady a new song : let her praise be in the 



THE FIRST COMMANDMENT, 



145 



congregation of the just," &c. Again, "Praise our 
Lady in her holiness ; praise her in her virtues and 
miracles ; praise her, ye choirs of patriarchs and 
prophets ; praise her, ye army of martyrs ; praise her, 
ye crowds of doctors and confessors ; praise her, ye 
company of virgins and chaste ones; praise her, ye 
orders of monks and anchorites ; let every thing that 
hath breath praise our lady." 

In that form of adoration, which, it is audaciously 
pretended, was revealed by an angel to St. Bernard, 
offering worship to many members of her body, we 
find among others these words : " Adoro et bendico 
beatissimas pedes tuas," &c. u I adore and bless thy 
most blessed feet," &c. The effect of this Mariolatry 
in fostering corruption is manifest in all Papal 
countries. Even pirates and robbers are often great 
worshippers of the saints. In " Graham's Three 
Months' Residence in the Mountains East of Rome," 
pp. 155, 161, he says : " Every robber had a silver 
heart, containing a picture of the Madonna and Child, 
suspended by a red ribbon to his neck, and fastened 

with another of the same colour to his side 

They talked pretty freely with their prisoners about 
themselves and their habits of life, which they main- 
tained arose from necessity, rather than choice. They 
showed them the heart and picture of the Madonna, 
which each had suspended from his neck, saying, 'We 
know that we are likely to die a violent death, but in 
our hour of need we have these,' touching their 
muskets, 6 to struggle for our lives with, and this,' 
kissing the image of the Virgin, e to make our death 
easy.' " 

The same was admitted by a very prominent per- 
is 



146 



THE FIRST COMMANDMENT. 



son at Rome in his conversations with Seymour, as 
reported in his "Mornings among the Jesuits," pp. 
104, 105. "The feeling of devotion to the Virgin 
has a mysterious something in it that will ever linger 
about the heart of the man who has ever felt it. It 
is one of those feelings that, once admitted, can never 
afterward be totally obliterated. There it still clings 
around the heart; and though there may be coldness 
to all other religious impressions ; though there may 
be infidelity or even scorn upon all our faith ; though 
there may be the plunging into the wild vortex of every 
sin, yet still there will not unfrequently be found 
even among the very worst of our people, a lingering 
feeling of devotion to the Blessed Virgin. . . Even 
in the most wild, wicked, and desperate men — even 
among the bandits in their worst state, there is always 
retained this devotion to Mary." 

The church of Rome authorizes the worship of the 
cross. Bossuet, ((Euvres 1, 448,) admits that Thomas 
Aquinas, the great Romish doctor, teaches that the 
cross is to be worshipped with Latria. The Roman 
Pontifical expressly says, "Latria is due to the cross." 
The Missal enjoins on clergy and laity, " on bended 
knee to adore the cross." In the meantime the 
whole choir sing, "Thy cross, 0 Lord, we adore." 
The Breviary says, "Thy cross, 0 Lord, we adore." 
Again, " 0 venerable Cross, that hast brought salva- 
tion to the wretched, by what praise shall I extol 
thee?" In the service for Good Friday, in the 
Roman Missal, a hymn is given to be sung to the cross : 



u O Crux, ave spes uniea, 
Auge piis justitiam, 
Reisque dona veniam." 



THE FIRST COMMANDMENT. 



147 



Literally, " 0 Cross, hail thou only hope, 

Increase righteousness to the pious, 
Give pardon to the guilty." 

The church of Rome also requires the worship of 
the bread and wine in the Mass. The Council of 
Trent, the last general council of the Romish Church, 
expressly says, "There is, therefore, no room to 
doubt that all the faithful in Christ are bound to 
venerate this most holy sacrament, and to render 
thereto the worship of Latria, which is due to the 
true God, according to the custom always observed in 
the Catholic Church. Neither is it to be less adored 
because it was instituted by Christ our Lord, as has 
been stated." There can be no mistake here. The 
very highest worship Qatrise cultum] which is due to 
the true God [qui vero Deo debetur] is to be rendered 
to the sacrament of the Eucharist. Faithfully is this 
carried out in the elevation and procession of the 
host. Thus, a wheaten cake and the juice of the 
grape are worshipped with the very worship offered 
to God, and a fearful anathema is denounced against 
those who teach otherwise. The heathen worshipped 
Saturn, of whom their poets said that he ate his 
children as soon as they were born ; but it was re- 
served for modern Rome to teach that the priest 
makes God with flour and water, and that then he and 
the people adore him and eat him. 

These proofs of idolatry in the Church of Rome 
might easily be multiplied fifty-fold. Where is the 
difference between Pagan and Papal Rome? Pagan 
Rome worshipped demons, commonly dead men. 
Papal Rome worships dead men and women. Papal 
Rome claims that she invokes holy creatures, whereas 



148 



THE FIRST COMMANDMENT. 



Pagan Rome called upon wicked ones. But holy 
creatures are still creatures; and to call upon them is 
to put them in the place of God, and that is idolatry. 
Paul sends forth the challenge, " How shall they call 
on him in whom they have not believed?" This 
clearly implies that religious service addressed to one 
that is not the object of religious faith is an absurdity. 
The invocation of saints, therefore, is either a mockery, 
or it at once exalts them to the rank of objects of re- 
ligious belief. Nor is it possible to prove that all 
whose names are in the Calendar are saints, or even 
in existence. Let any man prove that there ever 
lived such a person as St. Veronica, and by the same 
kind of evidence we can prove the existence of all 
the fabulous characters in Pagan mythology. But 
suppose all the saints named in the Calendar were 
now in heaven; not one of them possesses omnipre- 
sence. Not one of them can be in Rome, Vienna, 
London, Montreal, Mexico, St. Louis, New York, and 
all over the world at the same time ; neither can they 
be in heaven and on earth at the same moment. Any 
act, therefore, which attributes to them omnipresence, 
is idolatry. 

Neither can any one of them possibly know all the 
wants, fears, sorrows, and temptations of all the pious 
in the church militant. Mary would need to have 
millions of ears and of understandings. She would 
require infinite intelligence ; that is, she must be God 
in order to know the wants and wishes of all who now 
address her. To say or do anything that ascribes 
such knowledge to her is idolatry. 

This invocation of saints and angels goes upon the 
presumption that they pity and love us more tenderly 



THE FIRST COMMANDMENT. 



149 



and strongly than the Lord Jesus Christ. A learned 
priest, holding high position at Rome, distinctly de- 
clared to Rev. M. H. Seymour, " that God hears our 
prayers more quickly when they are offered through 
the blessed Virgin than when offered through any one 
else;" and "that even Christ himself was not so 
willing to hear our prayers, and did not hear them so 
quickly when offered simply to himself, as when they 
Were offered through the blessed Virgin." Could 
greater indignity be offered to Christ than is expressed 
in such sentiments? Himself said: "Greater love 
hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life 
for his friends." John xv. 13. Did not Jesus die for 
us, even while we were yet enemies f How then dare 
any express by word or deed more confidence in the 
tenderness and love of any creature than of the Lord 
Jesus Christ? When on earth, he said, "Come unto 
me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will 
give you rest;" or as it is in the Douay Bible, "Come 
unto me, all you that labour and are heavy laden, and 
I will refresh you." Our Saviour never directed the 
eyes of penitent sinners to his mother as a source of 
hope. When on earth, he was told, "Behold, thy 
mother and thy brethren stand without. But he 
answered and said unto him that told him, Who is 
my mother? and who are my brethren? And he 
stretched forth his hand toward his disciples, and said, 
Behold my mother and my brethren ! For whosoever 
shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the 
same is my brother, and sister, and mother." Matt, 
xii. 47-50. Christ could not in more emphatic terms 
have declared that in his kingdom, a new and spiritual 
nature, leading to a holy life, infinitely exceeded in 
13 * 



150 



THE FIKST COMMANDMENT. 



value all consanguinity, even with himself. As to 
the doctrine that Mary is Queen of heaven and has 
the highest throne of any of Adam's race, it is a mere 
imagination, and contrary to the Scriptures. Christ 
expressly said, that to sit on his right hand and on 
his left hand in his kingdom should be given to them 
for whom it is prepared of my Father, Matt. xx. 
23 ; Mark x. 40 ; never intimating that it should be 
to Mary, or Peter, or any one else known to us. We 
can, therefore, never prove that Mary is preferred 
before all the redeemed. But if she were, it would 
not alter the case, for the most eminent of all the re- 
deemed is but a creature, helpless and dependent, and 
idolatry consists in giving to anything created, homage 
and worship belonging to God only. The early 
preaching of the gospel was hardly a greater blessing 
than the Reformation. Hare: "The first was a de- 
liverance from idol gods; the second, from the wor- 
shipping of idol saints." 

When John mistook an angel for the Almighty, and 
fell at his feet to worship him, the angel said: "See 
thou do it not ; I am thy fellow-servant, and of thy 
brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship 
God." Rev. xix. 10. Peter Dens says, that "the 
angel refused this on account of the great holiness of 
John." The authors of the notes in the Douay Bible 
say that the angel declined it on account of the 
dignity of human nature, and of the dignity of John. 
But the angel assigns no such reason. On the 
contrary, he assigns a very different one: "I am 
thy fellow-servant, and the fellow-servant of thy 
brethren." 

To set aside these and like proofs of the idolatry 



THE FIRST COMMANDMENT. 



151 



of Rome her doctors have invented various devices 
and distinctions. One is that worship is of three 
kinds, Dulia, Hyperdulia and Latria. These are 
again distinguished into absolute and respective. 
Thus we have six grades of religious worship, viz. 
absolute Dulia and respective Dulia ; absolute Hy- 
perdulia and respective Hyperdulia ; absolute Latria 
and respective Latria. These distinctions are both 
unintelligible and impracticable. The masses of 
plain people in the Church of Rome neither know 
them, nor understand them, nor practise them. 
Moreover not one of them is preserved in the 
ordinary books of devotion, sent out by the Church 
of Rome. No warning is given to the devotee that he 
is to use the Litany to Mary with less exalted feel- 
ings of piety than those he exercises when using the 
Litany of the name of Jesus. Yea, in a prayer sanc- 
tioned by the Pope in 1807, his followers are taught 
to say: "Jesus, Mary and Joseph, assist me in my 
last agony." So that these refined distinctions are 
of no practical use, and Dens admits as much. The 
distinction between civil and religious homage is plain 
and clear. All men can make it. All men do make 
it. 

If any ask, how do Romanists suppose that saints 
in glory become acquainted with their prayers, Bellar- 
min answers thus : " Concerning the manner in which 
they know what is said to them, there are four opin- 
ions among the doctors, — 

1. " Some say that they know it from the relation 
of the angels, who at one time ascend to heaven, and 
at another time, descend thence to us. 

2. " Others say that the souls of the saints, as also 



152 



THE FIRST COMMANDMENT. 



the angels, by a certain wonderful swiftness which is 
natural to them, are in some measure every where, 
and themselves hear the prayer of the supplicant. 

8. " Others, that the saints see in God all things, 
from the beginning of their beatitude, which in any 
way appertain to themselves ; and hence even our 
prayers, which are directed to them. 

4. " Others, lastly, that the saints do not see in 
the word, our prayers from the beginning of their 
blessedness, but that our prayers are only then re- 
vealed to them by God, when we pour them forth." 

Surely if Bellarmin, the greatest of their doctors, 
could give no better account of the matter, it must be 
dark indeed. The fact is, it is inexplicable, because 
it is absurd. 

Some say that J acob wrestled with an angel, i. e. 
he prayed to him ; and therefore we may pray to saints 
and angels. The case is given at length in Gen. xxxii. 
24-31. There this angel is called a man, that is, he 
had the appearance of a man. But no sooner did he 
leave the Patriarch, than it is added, "And Jacob 
called the name of the place Peniel, \i. e. the face of 
God] for [said he,] " I have seen God face to face, and 
my life is preserved." This man then was God, and 
Jacob knew it was God before he left the spot. To 
this memorable event, the patriarch referred even 
when dying, thus : " God of my fathers, the God which 
fed me all my life long unto this day, the Angel which 
redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads." Gen. xlviii. 
15, 16. This passage alone determines that the 
angel was God himself. But we have still further 
and explicit information on the subject in Hosea 
xii. 4, 5, 6 : " Jacob had power with God, yea, he had 



THE FIRST COMMANDMENT. 



153 



power over the angel, and prevailed ; he wept and 
made supplication unto him: he found him at Bethel, 
and there he spake with us, even the Lord God of 
hosts ; the Lord [or Jehovah] is his memorial; there- 
fore turn thou to thy God." Thus we learn that the 
man, or the angel, was God, was the Lord God, was 
the Lord God of hosts, Jehovah. 

Listen to God's voice : " Call upon ME in the day 
of trouble : I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify 
me." Ps. L 15. 

How fully the ancient church testified by her ex- 
ample and teachings against such idolatry can be seen 
by consulting Church History, and especially the 
Antiquities of the Christian Church by Joseph 
Bingham. 

Y. Ungodliness. Perhaps the most comprehensive 
definition of ungodliness is "Neglect of God." It 
involves a ' 6 disregard of God and his commands, and 
neglect of his worship ; or it is any positive act of dis- 
obedience or irreverence." In all cases it supposes 
some degree of ignorance of the true nature of God 
and divine things. It implies a want of reverence 
for God, and of right affections towards him. It sup- 
poses men to desire independence of God, to be un- 
submissive to his will, to be ungrateful and disobedi- 
ent. The ungodly may have many notions of the 
matters revealed in Scripture : but they are not clear 
nor sound. They are tainted with some degree of 
superstition or of impiety. They will probably not 
stand the test of a dying hour. They certainly will 
not endure the severity of God's judgment. Ungod- 
liness is always deficient in uprightness of conscience. 
It is not marked by what the Bible calls simplicity 



154 



THE FIRST COMMANDMENT. 



and godly sincerity. It is never self-sacrificing or 
self-renouncing. Whatever it may do for the sake of 
decency or public opinion, it never mortifies sin. Nor 
does ungodliness ever enter into the forms of religion 
with zest and animation. If it serves at all, it is 
with luke-warmness. 

It must be very evident that ignorance of Grod is 
directly a species of ungodliness, and is in the face 
of the first commandment. It is never the mother 
of true devotion, though it may be of superstition. 
It is everywhere condemned in Scripture. The 
Lord says: "My people is foolish, they have not 
known me ; they are sottish children, and they have 
none understanding : they are wise to do evil, but to 
do good they have no knowledge." Again: "The 
Lord hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the 
land, because there is no truth, nor mercy, nor know- 
ledge of God in the land My people are 

destroyed for lack of knowledge." Jer. iv. 22 ; 
Hosea iv. 1, 6. All ignorance of God is aggravated 
by being to a considerable extent wilful. 

Forgetfulness of God falls into the same class 
of sins. From the frequency with which it is charged 
in Scripture, it would appear to be very prevalent, 
and one of the most obstinate forms of rebellion. 
Nothing, no alarming judgments, no stupendous dis- 
plays of mercy, can cure this folly, without the 
sovereign grace of God. Ps. lxxviii. 11 ; cvi. 13, 21. 
From one expression in Scripture, it would seem to 
be the great sin of the whole heathen world ; for there 
we read of "all the nations that forget God." Ps. ix. 
17. To the same class of sins we must refer all false 
opinions, misapprehensions and unworthy thoughts of 



THE FIRST COMMANDMENT, 



155 



God. We are no more at liberty to liken God to 
some creature however exalted, than to a creature 
ever so debased. "We ought not to think that the 
Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven 
by art and man's device." Acts xvii. 29. Whenever 
we think that God is such an one as ourselves, we 
miserably degrade him. Ps. 1. 21. 

When we withhold from God any act of service or 
honour required by himself, we break the first com- 
mandment. That is a heavy charge, " Thou hast not 
called upon me, 0 Jacob ; but thou hast been weary of 
me, 0 Israel. Thou hast not brought me the small 
cattle of thy burnt-offerings ; neither hast thou 
honoured me with thy sacrifices. I have not caused 
thee to serve with an offering, nor wearied thee with 
incense. Thou hast bought me no sweet cane with 
money, neither hast thou filled me with the fat of thy 
sacrifices-: but thou hast made me to serve with thy 
sins, thou hast wearied me with thine iniquities." Isa. 
xliii. 22-24. 

We greatly sin when we curiously and irreverently 
pry into GrooV s secrets, Deut. xxix. 29, when we put 
ourselves above God, or make ourselves equal to God 
in our own estimation or plans, 2 Tim. iii. 2-4; when 
we hate God, which must always be without a cause, 
John xv. 25 ; when we yield to unbelief, Heb. iii. 12 ; 
when we give up our hearts to heresy, Titus iii. 10 ; 
when we believe God is pleased with our cruelty or 
with any of our sins, Acts xxvi. 9, when we refuse to 
set our hopes in God, Ps. lxxviii. 22 ; when we refuse 
to believe the promises, and give up our minds to de- 
spair, as did Cain and Judas ; when we refuse to be 
amended by God's sore judgments, Jer. v. 3; when 



156 THE FIRST COMMANDMENT. 

we are not brought to repentance by bis kind acts of 
providence, Rom. ii. 4, 5 ; when we cry Peace and 
safety, in the midst of our sins, Ps. xix. 13 ; when we 
deny God's moral government over the world, Zeph. 
i. 12 ; when we tempt God, Matt. iv. 7 ; when our 
zeal in religion is ignorant and indiscreet, Gal. iv. 17 ; 
Rom. x. 2; John xvi. 2; Luke ix. 54, 55-; when we 
are either dead or lukewarm in the service of God, 
Rev. iii. 1, 16. In all these cases we violate the first 
commandment. 

Nor do we less sin when we go after wizards and 
witches, and practise palmistry, spiritualism, and the 
black art, or use charms and spells. Gal. v. 20 ; 
Lev. xx. 6 ; 1 Sam. xxviii. 7, 11. The sin of such 
practices is not destroyed by any particular theory that 
we may hold on this subject. We also violate the 
first commandment when we yield to any of the sug- 
gestions of the devil, Acts v. 3. 

Of course, apostasy from God is against this com- 
mandment. " If any man draw back, my soul hath 
no pleasure in him." Heb. x. 38. " God will make 
his sword drunk in the blood of apostates." For 
a while they may seem to prosper, but it is the pros- 
perity of the bullock preparing for the slaughter. 
The Bible gives us awful examples of the end of 
apostates, in the case of king Saul and of Judas 
Iscariot. The former of these was, in early life, 
modest, unaspiring, mingling with God's people and 
even with his eminent ministers, himself a prophet 
among the prophets. But after he was raised to 
power, jealousy, malice, ambition, contempt of God 
and disobedience to the clearest commands began to 
mark his conduct. Bad became worse, till at length 



THE FIRST COMMANDMENT. 



15T 



he openly apostatized by refusing to hearken to God, 
and by consulting the witch of Endor. His doom 
was as sudden as it was dreadful. 

The case of Judas need not be here rehearsed. It 
is familiar to all. 

Nor is uninspired history without its awful lessons 
on this subject. Early in life Julian embraced the 
Christian religion. For a time he seemed zealous for 
its truths-. But ere long a change came over him, 
and in course of time he became one of the bitterest 
enemies of Christianity, even forbidding Christian 
youth in the Roman empire to be taught the classics 
of their mother tongue. Against Christ he was ex- 
ceedingly enraged. At one time he raised his dagger 
in the presence of his army and publicly defied the 
Son of God, whom he called Galilean. The longer 
he lived, the more envenomed he became. But such 
wickedness could not be allowed to go unchecked for 
ever. The day of retribution approached. He re- 
ceived a mortal wound in battle and lay weltering in 
his own blood. After a while he gathered up a hand- 
ful of the clotted gore and threw it into the air, ex- 
claiming, Vicisti Galilcee! Thou hast conquered, 0 
thou Galilean. 

The sixteenth century was a wonderful era in hu- 
man history. There were great dynasties, managed 
by great men ; great errors, upheld by long estab- 
lished usages ; great events, moving all the energies 
of men ; and great heroes, glorying in perils and perse- 
cutions for truth and righteousness. The human 
mind was wrought to the highest pitch of excitement. 
Hopes aroused some. Fears agitated some. Some 
were a flame of love. Others showed the most deadly 
14 



158 THE FIRST COMMANDMENT. 

malice. Seldom has virtue risen higher, seldom has 
wickedness sunk to lower depths. 

Several causes united to give the Reformation an 
unexpected degree of success and stability. One 
was the faith of its friends. Such a work was never 
wrought by doubting minds. Allied to this was an 
intrepidity, that struck terror into enemies, while it 
mightily emboldened friends. If there were not 
many martyrdoms, there were yet many who in spirit 
were martyrs. For more than a thousand years the 
gospel had not been preached with as much zeal, nor 
heard with as much zest, as in the first half of the 
sixteenth century. Catechising among Protestants 
was generally and earnestly attended to, and gave 
great success to truth. 

Nor were things of a terrible nature wanting in 
those days. Let one of this class be noticed. Several 
old writers tell us of one, whose history has often 
thrilled the hearts of men. Even to this day his 
name is often met with in print, and sometimes heard 
in the pulpit. It was a terror while he lived. It is 
a watchword of alarm, now that he has passed away 
from earth. Many already anticipate the name of 
Francis Spira. 

This great man was a Venitian, wonderfully gifted 
by nature, and no less remarkable for his acquire- 
ments ; by profession a lawyer, or advocate, of almost 
( unrivalled power ; as a man, just, courteous, friendly, 
and held in the highest esteem. His career was bril- 
liant till he was past middle life. 

When he was over forty years of age, he became 
interested in the great religious controversy then 
agitating Europe. He examined for himself. He 



THE FIRST COMMANDMENT. 



159 



searched into foundation truths. He felt that it was 
not a little thing ; that it was his life. His convictions 
of the truth were strong, and his zeal in making it 
known was exemplary. He studied God's word ; he 
told his family and his countrymen the wonderful 
things of God. He was the source of a new impulse 
to inquiry. A few such men, in the course of an 
ordinary life-time, would have reformed all Italy. 

This was seen at Rome. Spira was marked for 
destruction. The Pope's legate applied to the Senate 
of Venice. The foundations of society were moved. 
Confiscation, reproach, poverty to his wife and eleven 
children, a dungeon, torture, and death, all rose up 
like monsters before his imagination. His purpose 
faltered, his courage failed, his faith was gone. He 
went from Citadella, the town of his usual residence, 
to Venice ; there found Casa, the legate, and signed 
the following paper : 

" Having for several years maintained opinions 
respecting certain articles of faith, contrary to the 
orthodox and accredited judgment of the Church, and 
advanced many things against the authority of the 
Church of Rome, and of the universal Bishop, I ac- 
knowledge, in all humility, my fault, mistake, and 
folly, in seducing others, and in consequence I return 
in entire obedience to the Sovereign Bishop in the 
communion of the Church of Rome, without ever 
desiring to depart from the traditions and decrees of 
the holy See. I am extremely grieved for all which 
has passed, and humbly implore pardon for so great 
an offence." 

Twice was he required to sign his recantation, and 
then to go to his own town, and publicly declare his 



160 



THE FIRST COMMANDMENT. 



renunciation of the doctrines he had so lately and 
zealously defended. But ere this work was fully 
done, conscience began to awake ; a sense of guilt 
began to take hold of him ; shame at his own cow- 
ardice unmanned him ; but worldly friends urged him 
on till he had, in the presence of a great assembly, re- 
nounced the principles of the Reformation. 

The awful deed was now done. But it was the 
signal for the letting loose of the tormentors. From 
that moment he regarded himself as an impious apos- 
tate, a weak and wicked creature, who had trifled with 
his own convictions on the most solemn subjects. He 
always maintained that his sin was against light. 
He said : " I believed it when I denied it ; now I 
neither believe that nor the doctrine of the Church of 
Rome. I believe nothing ; I have neither faith, nor 
confidence, nor hope ; I am a reprobate, like Cain or 
Judas, who, rejecting all hope, fell from grace into 
despair ; and my friends do me great wrong in not 
suffering me to depart to the abode of the unbeliev- 
ing, as I have justly deserved." Again: "I have 
denied Christ voluntarily, and against my knowledge ; 
and I feel that he hardens me, and that he will allow 
me no hope." Again: "I tell you my own con- 
science condemns me. What need is there for any 
other judge ?" 

Those, who had been the instruments of his denying 
Christ, attempted to comfort him. The priest who 
had received his recantation came to see him, and 
made himself known. This awakened new horror. 
He cried: " Oh the accursed day ! Oh the accursed 
day ! Oh that I had never been there ! Would to 
God I had then been dead !" Another Roman 



THE FIRST COMMANDMENT. 



161 



Catholic undertook to satisfy him that he had not de- 
nied Christ by abjuring Protestant doctrines. His 
answer was: "Assuredly, when I renounced those 
opinions, I believed them to be true; and 'yet I re- 
nounced them." Some Roman Catholics called on 
him now to believe the doctrines of the Reformation 
to be false. He cried out: "I cannot, I cannot; God 
will not permit me to believe them so, nor to take 
refuge in his mercy." 

Others told him of God's mercy to Peter, who had 
thrice denied his Lord. This gave him no hope. He 
exclaimed: "It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands 
of the living God." The sight of the Bible filled him 
with anguish. He begged that it might be carried 
out of his sight, and read no more in his hearing. The 
bitterness of death was in him, and seemed to assimi- 
late every thing to itself. 

When he was urged to believe, his answer was, 
"Oh! I wish I could believe, but it is impossible 
for me. I have denied Christ. I can only be- 
lieve what is contrary to my salvation and my com- 
fort." 

When prayer was recommended to him, he said: "I 
ardently desire to pray to God with my whole heart ; 
but I am unable. I see my condemnation, and know 
my only remedy is in Christ. Yet I cannot persuade 
myself to embrace him: such is the punishment of the 
damned. . . . My crime is not one iota less than 
that of Judas." One proposed to him that they 
should together repeat the Lord's prayer. He began, 
and after each petition, he would express such senti- 
ments as these: "I deplore my misery, for I per- 
ceive that I am abandoned by God, and cannot 



162 THE FIRST COMMANDMENT. 

invoke him with all my heart, as I have been accus- 
tomed to do. 

In this deplorable state he continued for some time, 
once attempting self-destruction, and failing; once 
going to Padua for medical and religious advice, but 
deriving no benefit from any, until at the age of 
forty-eight years, without comfort, without hope, 
without confidence, his body being wasted to a 
skeleton, he left this world, and entered on the 
realities of eternity. This case teaches many les- 
sons. 

1. No man knows what he will do until he is 
tried. 

2. No man has any more religious principle than a 
fair trial proves him to have. 

3. How horrible is sin! "Man knows the begin- 
nings of sin," said Spira, "but who can tell the bounds 
thereof?" 

4. In this, as well as in any other day, men may 
wickedly and fatally deny Christ. "Whosoever shall 
deny me before men, him will I deny before my 
Father, which is in heaven." 

5. "If our heart condemn us, God is greater than 
our heart, and knoweth all things." 

6. There is even in this life something worse than 
the death of the body. Sin is worse. Dishonour is 
worse. Despair is worse. A guilty conscience is 
worse. 

7. If God chooses to punish, he is at no loss for 
means. He can let loose on a man his own vile pas- 
sions, or his memory, or his imagination, or his con- 
science, and the work is done. 

8. There must be a hell. In this world, where 



THE FIRST COMMANDMENT. 



163 



mercy so much prevails, there is often something very 
much like hell. In the next world, retribution will 
be perfect, and so there must be a hell. 

9. The human mind may be brought, and some- 
times is brought, into states of feeling, to be kept 
out of which evinces infinite goodness on the part of 
God. 

10. God can do good by any means. He made 
Spira a great means of establishing many, and of 
converting some. Even Verger, who held a very rich 
bishopric under the Pope, was so wrought on in his 
visits to Spira, that he renounced popery, retired to 
Basle, and died a Protestant. 

11. " He that endureth to the end shall be saved." 
"If any man draw back, my soul hath no pleasure in 
him." 

12. Are you a Christian? Spira used to say, "Do 
you, who are so assured of your right state, take care 
that it be such. . . . Look to yourselves. It is no 
light or easy matter to be a Christian. Look nar- 
rowly to your lives. Make a greater account of 
the gifts of the Spirit of God than I have done. Be 
constant and immovable in maintaining your pro- 
fession. Confess it even to death, if you are called 
to it." 

Let us also beware how we give up our convictions 
of truth and duty as taught by God, and yield to the 
doctrines and solicitations of men, thus giving them 
dominion over our faith and lordship over our con- 
sciences. Matt, xxiii. 9; 2 Cor. i. 24. The united 
voice of the world is as nothing on a point of faith or 
practice, when we have a Thus saith the Lord to the 
contrary. 



164 



THE FIRST COMMANDMENT. 



This commandment also forbids the giving of the 
praise of any good that has befallen us, or is pos- 
sessed by us, to ourselves, to fortune or to idols. 
Deut. viii. 17; Dan. iv. 30; v. 23 ; 1 Sam. vi. 9. 

All impatience under God's dispensations, all dis- 
content and murmuring, all foolish and wicked speeches 
respecting God, are also sins against this command- 
ment. Ps. lxxiii. 2-17; Jude 16; Phil. ii. 14; 1 Cor. 
x. 10. 

Some never show cheerfulness in bowing to God's 
will. Others openly fret against it. Many sin by 
taking no thankful notice of mercies received and re- 
maining. Leighton: "There is more joy in enduring 
a cross for God, than in the smiles of the world ; in a 
private, despised affliction, without the name of suffer- 
ing for his cause, or anything in it like martyrdom, 
but only as coming from his hand, kissing it and 
bearing it patiently, yea, gladly, for his sake, out of 
love to him, because it is his will so to try thee. 
What can come amiss to a soul thus composed? 

"I wish that even they who have renounced the 
vain world, and have the face of their hearts turned 
Godwards, would learn more this happy life, and 
enjoy it more; not to hang so much upon sensible 
.comforts, as to delight in obedience, and to wait for 
those at his pleasure, whether he gives much or little, 
any or none. Learn to be still finding the sweetness 
of his commands, which no outward or inward change 
can disrelish, rejoicing in the actings of that divine 
love within thee. Continue thy conflicts with sin, 
and though thou mayest at times be foiled, yet cry 
to him for help, and getting up, redouble thy hatred 
of it and attempts against it. Still stir this flame of 



THE FIRST COMMANDMENT. 



165 



God. That will overcome: 'many waters cannot 
quench it.' It is a renewed pleasure to be offering up 
thyself every day to God. Oh! the sweetest life in 
the world is to be crossing thyself to please him; 
trampling on thy own will to follow his." 

Three other sins against this commandment should 
not pass without notice. One of them consists in 
resisting and grieving the Holy Spirit. How dread- 
ful this sin is, may be learned from the fact that 
inspired men speak of it as if it were the sum of all 
wickedness. Thus said Stephen to his impenitent 
audience : " Ye stiff-necked, and uncircumcised in 
heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost." 
Acts vii. 51. 

Another form of breaking this commandment is the 
rejection of Jesus Christ. Without him we can do 
nothing. John xv. 5. He is the sole and sufficient 
author of salvation to lost men. To reject him is to 
reject all the counsels of God for our restoration to 
the divine favour. The Scriptures employ the most 
alarming language respecting this sin. Christ him- 
self says, " If ye believe not that I am he, ye shall 
die in your sins." John viii. 24. "He that despised 
Moses' law died without mercy under two or three 
witnesses ; of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, 
shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under 
foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of 
the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy 
thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace ?" 
Heb. x. 28, 29. 

The last form of breaking this commandment is 
by insincerity of heart in religious worship. When 
Christ was on earth, he used more alarming and terri- 



166 



THE FIRST COMMANDMENT. 



ble language to hypocrites than to all others. Their 
case is indeed sad, and their guilt heinous. Hopkins : 
" The hypocrite calls on Grod to be an accomplice and 
partaker with him in his crimes; and so makes God to 
he the patron of sin, who will be the Judge and con- 
demn er of sin." i 



THE SECOND COMMANDMENT, 



167 



CHAPTER XV. 

THE SECOND COMMANDMENT. 

Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven 
image, or any likeness of anything that is in 
heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, 
or that is in the waters under the earth : thou 
shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve 
them: for i the lord thy god am a jealous god, 
visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the 
children unto the third and fourth genera- 
tion of them that hate me ; and showing mercy 
unto thousands of them that love me, and keep 
my commandments. 

GOD never gave a command more solemn in its 
terms, or in the sanction connected with it. 
Nor are we left in doubt respecting the vast impor- 
tance of this precept. On this point other parts of 
God's word are full and urgent. Let us first consider 
the sanction annexed to it. It is very weighty. The 
words in which it is delivered seem to have been chosen 
for the purpose of striking terror into the hearts of 
the rebellious, and of giving the highest encourage- 
ment to the obedient. 

I. We have an assertion of God's rightful authority 



168 



THE SECOND COMMANDMENT. 



and sovereignty; for I the Lord thy God, &c. The 
phrase rendered the Lord thy G-od is precisely the same 
as found in the preface to the commandments, already 
considered. It points to the foundation of all religious 
obligation. It is commonly thought to be a fair mode 
of estimating the importance of a principle by the 
frequency with which it is stated in Scripture. Ap- 
plying this rule to the present case, there is no more 
important truth than this, I am the Lord thy God. 
"He is thy Lord, and worship thou him." "0 come, 
let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the 
Lord our maker. For he is our God." Ps. xlv. 11; 
xcv. 6, 7. From the fact that the Scriptures fre- 
quently compare idolatry to whoredom, some suppose 
that the phrase thy God, has special reference, not 
only to a covenant relation in general, but to a cove- 
nant relation well represented by that of marriage; 
and so Isaiah says: "Thy Maker is thine husband; 
the Lord of hosts is his name; and thy Redeemer, 
the Holy One of Israel; The God of the whole earth 
shall he be called." Is. liv. 5. See also Rev. xv. 3, 4. 
There can be no true religion except as the doctrine 
of God's sovereign and rightful authority over us is 
received. 

II. As the human mind is exceedingly prone to 
practical atheism, and to idolatry also, God takes 
pains to inform us respecting his nature. He says, 
I am a jealous God. The word here rendered God 
is not JElohim, but El. This latter word rendered 
God, when used as an adjective, signifies strong or 
mighty; and when used as an abstract term, it signi- 
fies might or power. As a name of God, standing 
alone, it is chiefly found in the poetic parts of Scrip- 



THE SECOND COMMANDMENT. 16$ 



ture. It occurs about two hundred and forty times 
in the Hebrew Bible, and in a majority of cases re- 
fers to the true God. Whether we render it here 
Grod or strong, the sense is the same, for the Lokd is 
mighty, nor can any number of persons or nations 
resist his omnipotence. Leighton: "El. — Able to right 
myself upon the mightiest and proudest offender. Do 
we 'provoke the Lord to jealousy f says the apostle. 
Are we stronger than he f 1 Cor. x. 22 ; thus joining 
these two together, as they are here, His strength 
and his jealousy." He is able to punish any in- 
sult that is offered him by any of his creatures. He 
is strong and jealous, too. The same thing is re- 
peatedly declared in Scripture. " Thou shalt worship 
no other God; for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, 
is a jealous God. Ex. xxxiv. 14. Compare Deut. 
iv. 24 ; v. 9 ; vi. 15. The word rendered jealous could 
not be better translated. Elsewhere the correspond- 
ing noun is used to express the strongest passion of 
man towards man: Num. v. 14, 15, 18, 25, 29, 30. 
It is several times rendered zeal; 2 Kings xix. 31; 
Ps. lxix. 9; Isa. ix. 7; xxxvii. 32; lix. 17. A like 
word is used, Numbers xxv. 13, where it is said, that 
Phinehas was zealous for his God. So here the meaning 
is, that God has a zeal for his own honour and glory. 
The special reference here is doubtless to the intense 
emotions of men respecting their domestic peace. 
Hopkins: "Jealousy is an affection or passion of the 
mind, by which we are stirred up and provoked 
against whatsoever hinders the enjoyment of that 
which we love and desire. The cause and origin of it 
is love; the effect of it is revenge." In its very na- 
ture it is apprehensive of rivalship. A sovereign is 

15 



170 THE SECOND COMMANDMENT. 

jealous of his authority. Freemen are jealous of 
their rights. The term always expresses exceedingly 
strong disapprobation and indignation against the 
withholding of that which is our due, particularly in 
the marriage relation. Jealousy is never satisfied ex- 
cept with perfect fidelity. No compliments, no services 
however beautiful in themselves, and no rewards, can 
quiet its imperious demands. " Neither their silver 
nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the 
day of the Lord's wrath; but the whole land shall be 
devoured by the fire of his jealousy, for he shall make 
even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the 
land." Zeph. i. 18. No virtuous husband will rest 
satisfied with less than the love and fidelity of his 
wife. Nor will a holy God be content with less than 
the heart, the homage, and the holy living of his peo- 
ple. So he has said: "I have heard the voice of the 
words of this people, which they have spoken unto 
thee: they have well said all that they have spoken. 
Oh, that' there were such an heart in them, that they 
would fear me, and keep all my commandments al- 
ways, that it might be well with them and their chil- 
dren for ever." Deut. v. 28, 29. 

Nor will jealousy ever rest satisfied till its doubts 
are removed. It is exceedingly eager in its pursuit 
of what it supposes to be evidence calculated to put 
an end to all uncertainty. God indeed is never in 
doubt about the state of our minds ; for he searches 
the heart. "God is light; and in him is no dark- 
ness at all." 1 John i. 5. His searching will there- 
fore tear away every disguise, and bring out the whole 
truth. 

Men are never more determined to risk every thing 



THE SECOND COMMANDMENT. 



171 



than in securing and guarding the sanctity of their 
own marriage. Nor does their indignation ever rise 
higher than against any crime, which destroys their 
domestic peace. "Jealousy is cruel as the grave; 
the coals thereof are coals of fire, which hath a most 
vehement flame." Jealousy is indeed "the rage 
of a man ; therefore he will not spare in the day of 
vengeance." Cant. viii. 6 ; Prov. vi. 34. So the Al- 
mighty threatens : " The Lord will not spare him, 
but the anger of the Lord and his jealousy shall 
smoke against that man, and all the curses that are 
written in this book shall lie upon him, and the Lord 
shall blot out his name from under heaven." Deut. 
xxix. 20. 

III. God declares that, as Governor of the world, 
he is not indifferent to the sins of men ; but that he 
visits iniquity. The word visits is used in Scripture 
both in a good and in a bad sense. It is found in a 
good sense in Gen. xxi. 1, 1. 24 ; Ex. xiii. 19 ; Ps. 
lxxx. 14 ; Luke i. 68, 78, vii. 16 ; Acts xv. 14. It is 
found in a bad sense in the following passages. Ps. 
lix. 5 ; Jer. v. 9, 29 ; Jer. ix. 9 ; Isa. xxiii. 17. 
Leighton says God will visit " as judges and magis- 
trates use to visit those places that are under their 
jurisdiction, to make inquiry after abuses committed 
in time of their absence, and to punish them." 1 Sam. 
vii. 16." To visit iniquity, to visit transgression and to 
visit sins are phrases which always threaten punish- 
ment. The meaning, therefore, is, that God will terri- 
bly and condignly punish infractions of this command- 
ment. 

IV. The Lord declares that his jealousy is such 
that he visits the iniquity of the fathers upon the chil- 



172 THE SECOND COMMANDMENT. 

drin unto the third and fourth generation of them that 
hate him. This declaration is repeated in so many 
words in Ex. xxxiv. 7 ; Num. xiv. 18 ; Deut. v. 9. 
Nor is there any doubt respecting the genuineness of 
the text, or the fairness of the translation. The fol- 
lowing passages of Scripture are supposed to be to a 
considerable extent parallel or explanatory. " I re- 
member that which Amalek did to Israel, how he ldid 
wait for him in the way, when he came up from 
Egypt. Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly de- 
stroy all that they have, and spare them not." 1 Sam. 
xv. 2, 3. This command was given to Saul, nearly 
four hundred years after the Israelites had entered 
Canaan. So that not a single man who had opposed 
Israel in the march to Canaan was then living ; but 
only the descendants of such. Again: "Because 
Ahab humbled himself before God, the Lord brought 
not the evil upon his house in his days, but in his 
son's days." 1 Kings xxi. 29. In a time of great 
public calamity, when the heathen had come into God's 
inheritance and had denied the holy temple, Asaph 
prayed, " 0 remember not against us former iniqui- 
ties." Ps. lxxix. 8. When Belshazzar was suddenly 
cut down, a part of the song sung by the children of 
Israel was in these awful words : " The seed of evil- 
doers shall never be renowned. Prepare slaughter 
for his children, for the iniquity of their father ; that 
they do not rise, nor possess the land." Isa. xiv. 20, 
21. Again : " Thou shewest loving-kindness unto 
thousands, and recompensest the iniquity of the 
fathers into the bosom of their children after them." 
Jer. xxxii. 18. Again: "That upon you may come 
all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from thd 



THE SECOND COMMANDMENT. 



173 



blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacha- 
rias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the 
temple and the altar." Matt, xxiii. 35. Thus it ap- 
pears that whatever God intended to teach us by such 
language, he designed deeply to impress it on our 
minds, because he repeats it very often. 

The following additional remarks on the commina- 
tion contained in the second commandment are here 
offered. 

I. Candour requires the admission that it is an ex- 
ceedingly awful threatening, and well suited to make 
men stop and think, and fear before the Lord. All 
threatenings to visit iniquity are alarming, because 
they are declarations of the inflexible justice of God. 
But when God declares that our moral conduct shall 
have a bearing on our posterity for generations, 
surely none but the desperately hardened can be in- 
sensible. 

II. Candour no less requires the admission that 
this threatening is not of easy explication. The 
difficulty arises principally on three accounts. 1. It 
seems to be counter to the sense of justice and equity 
felt by men generally. But we should not forget 
that man is not a competent judge of the best rules 
for conducting a moral government ; and that, there- 
fore, any objection arising from his views of things 
ought to be stated with great modesty. He ought to 
be willing patiently to wait and carefully consider 
the whole case. Many things seem harsh or unfair, 
until the principles, on which they are founded, are well 
understood. 2. Another source of difficulty arises 
from the fact that in organizing the Jewish common- 
wealth under the theocracy, and in providing for the 

16 * 



174 



THE SECOND COMMANDMENT. 



administration of penal justice, God expressly or- 
dained that " the fathers shall not be put to death for 
the children, neither shall the children be put to 
death for the fathers: every man shall be put to 
death for his own sin." Deut. xxiv. 16. This statute 
was observed in Israel in their generations ; 2 Kings 
xiv. 5, 6; 2 Chron. xxv. 3, 4. So that in the 
threatening connected with the second commandment, 
there is involved no principle which ought to make 
our laws harsh to the descendants of wrong-doers. 
God himself thus teaches. Some nations still retain 
the principle of attainting blood for certain crimes. 
Happily, the Constitution of the United States pro- 
hibits the passage of any law of attainder. 3. A still 
greater difficulty arises from the declarations of God 
made elsewhere. In Jeremiah (xxxi. 29, 30,) God 
says, "In those days they shall say no more, The 
fathers have eaten a sour grape, and the children's 
teeth are set on edge. But every one shall die for 
his own iniquity: every man that eateth the sour 
grape, his teeth shall be set on edge." " Those 
days " here mentioned are shown by the context to 
refer especially to gospel times, when the Mosaic dis- 
pensation should be fully ended. See verses 31-34. 
We have a like declaration, but much more extended, 
in the prophecy of Ezekiel, (xviii. 2-28.) 

Whatever may be the import of the threatening in 
the second commandment, or of these declarations by 
the prophets, we are certain that they would entirely 
harmonize if we correctly understood them. The 
right course, therefore, for us to pursue, is to receive 
them all, as they are indeed, the word of God, and 
reverently study to find out what they teach. . It is 



THE SECOND COMMANDMENT. 



175 



not right to array one of these passages or classes of 
texts of Scripture against the other. No man is at 
liberty to receive one or more of them more fully or 
cordially than the others. 

III. The evil threatened in the second command- 
ment is said to extend to the third and fourth genera- 
tion. This is the fundamental passage on the subject; 
and yet in Jeremiah xxxii. 18, there is no such limi- 
tation, but the prophet declares that God " recom- 
penses the iniquity of the fathers into the bosom of 
the children after them." And in some other pas- 
sages already cited, it appears that the curse extended 
beyond the fourth generation. So also in the punish- 
ment of the ten tribes, the evil consequences were felt 
far beyond four generations. The third and fourth 
generation are particularly mentioned, " partly, be- 
cause a parent may live so long, and see the dreadful 
effects of his sin in his children's children; partly, 
because so far the memory of a father may extend, 
and be matter of imitation to his children ; and 
partly, to show the difference between his exercise 
of justice and mercy, as appears by comparing the 
next verse." 

IV. Some have supposed that we find an explana- 
tion of the whole principle here involved in the ruin 
of our race by the sin of Adam. But this cannot be 
admitted. Adam was a public person, the federal 
head and representative of his posterity. Had he 
stood his probation without sinning, they all would 
have been for ever confirmed in holiness and in the 
favour of God. But he sinned and cut off from all 
possibility of standing accepted on the ground of the 
covenant of works every one who descended from him 



176 



THE SECOND COMMANDMENT. 



by ordinary generation. No man is now so the repre- 
sentative of his posterity as that they will be lost for 
his sin alone ; or that they will be saved on the ground 
of his piety. 

Y. Some have thought that the threatening here 
contained has exclusive reference to idolaters. No 
doubt idolatry is exceedingly offensive to God. So 
much is God incensed at it that he directed the in- 
habitants of idolatrous cities in Palestine to be exter- 
minated. Deut. xiii. 12-17. And it is true that the 
most terrible denunciations of Heaven's wrath, made 
in Scripture, or executed in providence, are against 
idolatry and kindred sins. Maimonides confines the 
curse in the second commandment to idolaters, be- 
cause, he says, they are haters of God; and it cannot 
be denied that wherever God specifies the particular 
class of sinners, against whose posterity he threatens 
evil for the sins of their ancestry, idolaters, persecu- 
cutors, bloody men, or other atrocious offenders are 
the subjects of consideration. There seems to be 
something exceedingly dreadful in the operation of 
idolatry on communities. It strikes so deep into the 
very essence of moral character, that to root it out 
from among a people, where it has once obtained ac- 
ceptance, seems to be all but impossible. Jer. ii. 11. 
Even after it is driven from street and temple, it 
lurks in families and chambers ; and images are often 
carried concealed under the vestments. Thus it is apt to 
be perpetuated from generation to generation. While 
we may admit as much as the foregoing, it is not true 
that the curse is confined to idolaters. All the unre- 
generate "hate G-od. Rom. viii. 7. Atheists, infidels, 
all wilful violaters of any of the commandments, and 



THE SECOND COMMANDMENT. 



177 



all rejecters of the gospel of Jesus Christ are the 
enemies of God by wicked works. The special reason 
of speaking of idolaters as those that hate God is not 
merely to express that simple truth, but to cut off all 
pretext and pretence of love to him on the part of 
those who essentially corrupt his worship. 

VI. It cannot be denied that temporal calamities 
have been sent and are still sent on children in con- 
sequence of the wickedness of their ancestry. We 
see this principle carried out in all countries, what- 
ever may be the form of government. The children 
of the thief, of the drunkard, and of the flagrant 
wrong-doer, do always commence life under great dis- 
advantages. The grace of God, leading to upright- 
ness, may enable them to overcome all these. But in 
some cases vice transmits diseases or entails poverty, 
from the effects of which, no virtuous living on the 
part of the children relieves them. Moreover, the 
Scriptures record instances of temporal suffering in 
children, even where the damning guilt of the parents' 
sin has been forgiven : " And David said unto Nathan, 
I have sinned against the Lord. And Nathan said 
unto David, The Lord also hath put away thy sin ; 
thou shalt not die. Howbeit, because by this deed 
thou hast given great occasion to the enemies of the 
Lord to blaspheme, the child also that is born unto 
thee shall surely die." 2 Sam. xii. 13, 14. The evil 
here threatened is exclusively temporal. So David 
understood it ; for after his child was dead, he ex- 
pressed strong confidence not only that his child was 
immortal and happy in heaven, but that he should 
soon join him. See verse 23. Pool thinks that all 
the evil threatened in the second commandment re- 



178 



THE SECOND COMMANDMENT. 



lates to temporal punishments. But this cannot be 
proven any more than that all the mercy promised in 
the next verse relates to temporal prosperity. 

VII. While for the glory of his justice, the honour 
of his kingdom, and the good of his chosen, the Lord 
may afflict even the godly children of idolaters and 
of other great offenders with temporal calamities, for 
the sins of their ancestors, yet none of the pains 
of eternal death shall fall on the humble, penitent be- 
liever, either for his own sins, the sins of his imme- 
diate progenitors, or for the first sin of his representa- 
tive Adam, just as the Most High grants eternal 
mercies to none of the children of those who love him, 
if they forsake the God of their fathers, and walk on 
in sin. So he clearly declares, " When the son hath 
done that which is lawful and right, and hath kept all 
my statutes and hath done them, he shall surely live 
and, " When a righteous man turneth away from his 
righteousness and committeth iniquity and dieth in 
them; for his iniquity that he hath done shall he die." 
Ezek. xviii. 19, 26. Thus, individual responsibility 
is fully retained ; and a door of mercy is opened wide 
to all who, forsaking the evil practices of their ances- 
tors, renouncing the works of the devil, and fleeing 
for refuge to the hope set before them in the gospel, 
accept the grace that is in Christ Jesus. Thus Heze- 
kiah, though the son of wicked Ahaz, who had greatly 
defiled the house of God, was a truly pious man. 
walked with God, had great temporal prosperity, and 
died in faith. 

VIII. Where children walk in the footsteps of 
their vicious ancestors and thus justify all their 
wickedness, as the descendants of idolaters and of 



THE SECOND COMMANDMENT. 



179 



other heinous violaters of God's law are very apt to 
do, there is no difficulty in perceiving at once the 
perfect justice of the evil here threatened. Ps. xlix. 
13. That indeed is visiting the iniquity of the fathers 
upon the children in the most terrible form. Spiritual 
judgments are the most terrific of all judgments. To 
be given over on any account, particularly in imita- 
tion of the wickedness of our forefathers, to work 
iniquity with greediness, is the heaviest of Heaven's 
curses. 

IX. It would probably not a little quiet some of 
our rebellious thoughts respecting the evil here threat- 
ened, if we would duly remember the following things. 
1. Sin is a horrible evil. It deserves God's wrath 
and curse both in this life and that which is to come. 
God has never punished it excessively. He never 

"will punish it more than it deserves. 2. We are all 
" by nature the children of wrath." None of us are 
in ourselves innocent. As we come into the world, 
we are under the just curse of the covenant of works. 
3. It is of God's mere grace that kindness is shown to 
any of our race. No man deserves mercy at the hand 
of God, either for himself or his posterity. 

X. Let us for a moment suppose that there was no 
such principle as social liability incorporated into the 
government of the world ; that the husband could not 
be made to pay the fines imposed upon his wife ; that 
wives and children were subjected to no inconveniences 
on account of the criminal conduct of husbands and 
fathers ; would we thus be led reasonably to expect 
an improved state of morality ? Lord Bacon says, 
" He who marries gives hostages to society." That 
is, he gives additional pledges of his good behaviour 



180 



THE SECOND COMMANDMENT. 



as a citizen. So also the father has motives for good 
behaviour, which can never be felt by the childless. 
The love of our offspring is not only natural, but ex- 
ceedingly strong. Even infidels, who have lived and 
died reckless of their own spiritual interests, have 
been known to exhort their dying children to believe 
in Christ ; so mightily did parental love, at least for 
the time, over-ride their skepticism and enmity. But 
suppose when a man was tempted to do wrong, he 
could truly say, My evil conduct shall injuriously 
affect no one but myself, would not one of the 
strongest inducements to resist temptation, in many 
cases, be quite taken away ? Even a heathen said, 
" It is nothing strange and absurd for the posterity of 
lewd and wicked men to suffer what belongs to them." 

XI. Hopkins : " God doth not always observe this 
method of revenging the offences of fathers upon their 
children in temporal punishments. Neither doth this 
threatening in the commandment oblige him to do it, 
but only shows what their sins deserve, and what he 
might justly do, if he pleased to use his power and 
prerogative. ... If children themselves be pious 
and holy, this may be for their comfort, that whatever 
afflictions they lie under, shall be for their benefit and 
advantage ; and they are not punishments to them, 
but only fatherly corrections and chastisements : for 
the very things which they suffer may be intended by 
God as a punishment to their ancestors, but a fatherly 
correction to themselves ; and what to the one is 
threatened as a curse, to the other may prove a bless- 
ing and an advantage, as it gives them occasion of 
exercising more grace and so of receiving the greater 
glory." 



THE SECOND COMMANDMENT. 



181 



XII. It may be well here to present the views 
of some of the best commentators on this threaten- 
ing. 

Diodati: "As concerning eternal judgment upon 
the soul, every one dieth for his own iniquity. Jer. 
xxxi. 30. But for the father's sins, the children are 
often punished in body, in goods, and other things, 
which they hold, and derive from their fathers. Num. 
xiv. 33; 2 Sam. xii. 11, xxi. 5, 14. And besides, 
God oftentimes curseth the generation of the wicked, 
withdrawing his grace and Spirit from it, whereby 
imitating their parents' wickedness, they are pun- 
ished in the same manner." 1 Sam. xv. 2; Matt, xxiii. 
32, 35. 

Boston: "Not that God properly punishes one for 
another's sin; but that from the parents' sin, he 
often takes occasion to punish children for their own 
sins, and such their parents' sins ofttimes are by imi- 
tation, or some way approving of them." 

Ridgley has three remarks on the threatening con- 
tained in the second commandment: 1. "That though 
God does not punish children with eternal destruction 
for the sins of their immediate parents, yet these 
oftentimes bring temporal judgments on families. 
2. These judgments fall heavier on those children 
that make their parents' sins their own, by approving 

them and committing the same 3. Whatever 

temporal judgments may be inflicted on children for 
their parents' sins, shall be sanctified and redound to 
their spiritual advantage, as well as end in their ever- 
lasting happiness, if they do not follow their bad ex- 
ample." 

Scott: "If Israel, or any Israelites, revolted to 

16 



182 



THE SECOND COMMANDMENT. 



idolatry, they would be deemed haters of God; as the 
wife would be supposed to hate her husband, when she 
preferred every worthless stranger to him : and the 
national covenant, with its peculiar blessings, being 
forfeited, the sins of the parents would involve their 
offspring in the punishment, even to the third and 
fourth generation." 

Stowell gives much the same explanation. He 
says, "God's dealing with the seed of Abraham 
must be examined on the principles of that national 
covenant into which he entered with that people." 

XIII. There is nothing in this threatening, which 
goes counter to the exceeding great and precious 
principle laid down by the apostle. (1 Cor. vii. 14.) 
"The unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, 
and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband ; 
else were your children unclean, but now are they 
holy." So that the wickedness of one parent can 
never make null and void the covenant of God with 
the other believing parent. In this case, as in many 
others, though sin abounds, grace does much more 
abound. God, who would not have destroyed Sodom 
had there been ten righteous people in it; God, who 
spares the world for the sake of his elect that are in 
it, will never put beyond the reach of his grace, or 
the pale of his covenant, the child, either of whose 
parents is found faithful with God, except for the 
personal sins of such child. 

XIV. It is an exceedingly great relief to a tender 
heart to find this declaration of God's justice imme- 
diately followed by a promise unspeakably more 
large and glorious, viz. : "shewing mercy unto thou- 
sands of them that love me and keep my command- 



THE SECOND COMMANDMENT. 



183 



merits." So that even here at the foot of Sinai, 
u mercy rejoiceth against judgment," triumphing 
over it. James ii. 13. Compare Ezek. xxxiii. 11. 
The chief difficulty respecting this promise is in bring- 
ing our hearts to understand and embrace the exceed- 
ing riches of the grace here offered. The thousands 
here spoken of are not thousands of persons merely, 
but thousands of generations. The context teaches 
as much, and this is the interpretation approved by a 
great body of the soundest expositors, among them 
John Calvin. The promise will stand for ever good: 
"I will be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after 
thee." Gen. xvii. 7. And Solomon says, "The 
children of a just man are blessed after him." Prov. 
xx. 7. "This," says Calvin, "is not only the effect 
of a religious education, which is of no small import- 
ance, but it is also in consequence of the blessing 
promised in the covenant, that the grace of God shall 
perpetually remain in the families of the pious." So 
that if any of the effects of divine wrath are felt to 
the third and fourth generation of gross offenders, 
mercy is shown to thousands of generations of the 
truly pious. If God is glorious in holiness, and terri- 
ble in justice; he is matchless in loving-kindness, 
and unparalleled in tender mercy. And that we 
may labour under no misapprehension as to the in- 
fallible proof of love to God, it is stated in the same 
connection that it is evinced by keeping his command- 
ments. Jesus himself repeated the same truth: "He 
that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it 
is that loveth me." John xiv. 21. 

Under the influence of the due consideration of 
these great truths, 1. I am Jehovah, 2. I am thy 



184 THE SECOND COMMANDMENT. 

God, and 3. 1 am a jealous God; and 4, of the 
alarming threatening of visiting iniquity, and 5, of the 
very glorious promise of shewing mercy, let us consider 

WHAT THE SECOND COMMANDMENT REQUIRES. 

The first commandment clearly points out the one, 
glorious, exclusive object of religious worship. The 
second commandment chiefly relates to the manner in 
which such worship is to be offered to him. The word, 
worship, either means civil respect, or religious reve- 
rence. It is in the latter sense that it is here em- 
ployed. It has already been shown that neither the 
word of God nor the practice of men grades the 
veneration offered in religious worship, as the church 
of Rome vainly pretends to do. The worship of God 
consists, says Buck, "in paying a due respect, venera- 
tion, and homage to the Deity under a sense of reli- 
gious obligation to him." 

Fisher says, "Religious worship is that homage 
and respect we owe to a gracious God, as a God of 
infinite perfections, by which we profess subjection to, 
and confidence in him, as our God in Christ, for the 
supply of all our wants ; and ascribe the praise and 
glory that is due to him, as our chief good, and only 
happiness." 

Hopkins: "The true and spiritual worship of God 
in general is an action of a pious soul, wrought and 
excited in us by the Holy Ghost; whereby, with 
godly love and fear, we serve God acceptably accord- 
ing to his will revealed in his word; by faith em- 
bracing his promises, and in obedience performing his 
commands ; to his glory, the edification of others, and 
our own eternal salvation." 



THE SECOND COMMANDMENT. 



185 



One of these definitions may be more full than an- 
other ; but they are all right as far as they go. 

While the second commandment, no less than all 
the other precepts of the decalogue, should be regard- 
ed as designed to regulate our tempers, it no doubt 
has special reference to the external worship of God. 
The things forbidden in it relate to outward acts. It 
is true the most gross form of violating God's wor- 
ship is mentioned, just as the most flagrant form of 
sinning against our neighbour's life, and peace, and 
, property are mentioned in the sixth, seventh and 
eighth commandments. 

I. Let us then consider God's worship. Whenever 
worship is acceptable to God, it must have the follow- 
ing properties : 

1. It must be sincere and ingenuous. Hypocrisy 
is odious to all right-minded men ; to God it is de- 
testable. Without this heartiness in God's service, it 
is impossible to " worship the Lord in the beauty of 
holiness." 1 Ghron. xvi. 29. An attempt to serve 
him without sincerity calls in question the Divine 
Omniscience, and is a gross insult to his infinite pu- 
rity and majesty. Of course true worship will be 
cheerful, free from moroseness, and from sanctimonious 
grimace. It never teaches men to disfigure their 
faces. It abhors whining cant. In all approaches to 
God, let the oil of gladness run through our souls. 

2. It must be marked by solemnity and reverence, 
excluding levity, vanity, and profaneness of mind in 
the worshipper. Nothing can be more offensive to 
God than rushing thoughtlessly into his presence. 
" Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of God, 
and be more ready to hear than to give the sacrifice 

16* 



186 



THE SECOND COMMANDMENT. 



of fools : for they consider not that they do evil. Be 
not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be 
hasty to utter any thing before God; for God is in 
heaven, and thou upon earth : therefore let thy words 
be few." Eccles. v. 1, 2. " God is greatly to be feared 
in the assembly of the saints, and to be had in reve- 
rence of all them that are about him." Ps. lxxxix. 7. 

3. All worship offered to God must be humble. It 
is with the lowly that he takes up his abode ; while 
the proud he sends empty away. The great differ- 
ence between the Pharisee and Publican in the tem- 
ple was, that the former was bloated with self-con- 
ceit, while the latter was bowed down in deep self- 
abasement. " God resisteth the proud, but giveth 
grace unto the humble." 

4. God's worship must be intelligent. If it may 
be truly said to us as to the Samaritans, " Ye wor- 
ship ye know not what," our service is utterly worth- 
less. Charnock : "Worship is the fruit of know- 
ledge. . . . There is no worship acceptable to God 

without the knowledge of Christ Without 

this knowledge of God, we should never worship him 
in a right manner. . . . Whatever the principle of 
the worship is, it must have knowledge for the founda- 
tion. Without a knowledge of God we cannot affect 
him ; without a strong knowledge, we cannot love him 
ardently. . . . When we understand not his justice, 
we shall presume upon him ; when we are ignorant of 
his glorious majesty, we shall be rude with him ; unless 
we understand his holiness, we shall leap out of sin 
to duty ; and the risings of our lusts will be as nim- 
ble as the desires of our souls. If we are ignorant 
of his excellency >_ we shall want humility before him ; 



T,HE SECOND COMMANDMENT. 



187 



if we have not a deep sense of his omniscience, we 
shall be careless in his presence." 

Ignorance of the true God will clearly lead to 
atheism- or to the worship of false gods ; while a true 
saving knowledge of him will surely preserve us from 
so great sins. Gal. iv. 8. Dan. iii. 18. 

5. Our worship of God must be spiritual. Its seat 
must be in the soul. So taught Christ himself : " The 
hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers 
shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth ; for 
the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a 
spirit ; and they that worship him must worship in 
spirit and in truth." John iv. 23, 24. 

6. Our worship must be according to divine direc- 
tions. Every sovereign, as every court, has a right 
to regulate the manner in which petitioners shall ap- 
proach. Nothing more effectually destroys all ac- 
ceptableness in worship than that our fear towards 
God be taught by the precept of men. Isa. xxix. 13. 
Compare Matt. xv. 9. Acceptable worship is there- 
fore pure and simple, and free from superstition, 
pomp, and idle ceremony. All will-worship and all 
displays of magnificence invented by man are an of- 
fence to God. True worship, like real " beauty, when 
unadorned is adorned the most." We may not, there- 
fore devise any false worship, Num. xv. 37-40; nor 
recommend it to others, Deut. xiii. 6, 7, 8 ; nor enjoin 
it upon others, Hosea v. 11 ; nor use it ourselves, 
1 Kings xi. 33; nor in any wise countenance it. 
Rev. ii. 14. 

7. All acceptable worship must be offered in true 
faith. "Without faith it is impossible to please him; 
for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and 



188 



THE SECOND COMMANDMENT. 



that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him." 
Heb. xi. 6. Mason : " There wants nothing but a be- 
lieving prayer to turn every promise into a perform- 
ance." Unless we have this faith, the most , appro- 
priate public worship will soon become a burden, and 
we shall cry out, " What a weariness is it !" Mai. i. 13. 
Then we may indeed draw nigh to God with our mouth 
and honour him with our lips, but our hearts will be far 
from him. Matt. xv. 8. 

8. All acceptable worship must be offered to God 
by and through Jesus Christ, the only Mediator. 
" Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name ; ask, 
and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full." John 
xvi. 24. "If ye shall ask anything in my name, I 
will do it." John xiv. 14. The Saviour takes our 
imperfect services, puts them into his golden censer, 
sprinkles them with his own most precious blood and 
presents them before God for a sweet-smelling savour. 

Worship is either internal or external. Internal 
worship consists in right thoughts and intentions, 
right views and desires, humility of soul united 
with warm and tender affections towards God. This 
is the fountain of all religious service, pleasing to the 
Most High. It is of great price in the sight of him 
who knoweth our thoughts afar off. When some one 
spoke to Leighton of his very valuable library, he 
said, "One devout thought is worth it all." But 
there is no contrariety between internal and external 
worship. The former naturally leads to the latter. 
In external worship, we use words and actions expres- 
sive of inward emotions. That worship exercising both 
soul and body is proper, can be made manifest in 
many ways. 1. We have the examples of good men 



THE SECOND COMMANDMENT. 189 

recorded in Scripture and of the Saviour himself. 
2. External worship is specially ordained in many 
parts of Scripture. Time would fail us to cite all 
the texts pertinent. 3. Just so sure as we feel aright 
towards God, our pious affections will seek suitable 
modes of outward expression. Matt. xii. 35; Luke 
vi. 45; Rom. x. 10. 4. Our bodies are no less re- 
deemed than our souls. If the soul shall be glorified, 
so shall the body ; if the soul shall be lost, so shall 
the body. The law is explicit: "Glorify God in your 
body and in your spirit, which are God's." 1 Cor. 
vi. 20. Compare Matt. xvi. 24. 5. Suitable out- 
ward worship greatly aids the spirit of devotion and 
cultivates pious affections. Many Scriptures say as 
much. In some things in external worship, God has 
left us free to do that which seems to us most becom- 
ing and convenient. But he has prescribed the entire 
matter, and motive, and spirit with which he will be 
worshipped. 

Worship is again distinguished into that which is 
taught us both by the light of nature and by revela- 
tion ; and that which is taught us by revelation alone. 
There is nothing in nature to suggest that the offering 
of bloody sacrifices would be acceptable to God. That 
was learned by revelation alone. The same is true 
of the sacraments instituted by Christ. On the other 
hand, prayer and thanksgiving seem to be taught by 
the light of nature. At least all nations have prac- 
tised them. But enough of distinctions. 

The Westminster Assembly thus sums up the re- 
quirements of this precept: "The duties required in 
the second commandment are, the receiving, observ- 
ing, and keeping pure and entire, all such religious 



190 



THE SECOND COMMANDMENT. 



worship and ordinances as God hath instituted in his 
word; particularly prayer and thanksgiving in the 
name of Christ; the reading, preaching, and hearing 
of the word; the administration and receiving of the 
sacraments; church government and discipline; the 
ministry and maintenance thereof; religious fasting; 
swearing by the name of God ; and vowing unto him ; 
as also the disapproving, detesting, opposing all false 
worship; and, according to each one's place and call- 
ing, removing it, and all monuments of idolatry." 

This general view of what is required in this com- 
mandment must for the present suffice. As the com- 
mandment itself is in the negative form, it will be 
most convenient to consider the various topics in de- 
tail, when we shall speak of what the second com- 
mandment FORBIDS. 

I. HOW THE CHURCH OF ROME BREAKS THIS COMMAND- 
MENT BY IDOLATRY. 

The church of Rome has long found this a very 
troublesome commandment. Her devices for evading 
its force are many. The ^)ouay Bible reads thus: 
"Thou shalt not make to thyself a graven thing, 
nor the likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, 
or in the earth beneath, nor of those things that are 
in the waters under the earth. Thou shalt not adore 
them, nor serve them." Ex. xx. 4, 5. Again : "Thou 
shalt not make to thyself a graven thing, nor the 
likeness of any things, that are in heaven above, or 
that are in the earth beneath, or that abide in the 
waters under the earth. Thou shalt not adore them, 
and thou shalt not serve them." Deut. v. 8, 9. Again: 
"You shall not make to yourselves any idol or graven 



THE SECOND COMMANDMENT. 191 



thing, neither shall you erect pillars, nor set up a re- 
markable stone in your land, to adore it." Lev. 
xxvi. 1. The word (PeseT), which in the second com- 
mandment we render graven image, is the same word 
which we render carved image, and in the plural carved 
images in 2 Chron. xxxiii. 7, 19, 22. There is no differ- 
ence between graven images and carved images. This 
word [PeseT) is derived from a verb that signifies to 
grave, hew, or carve. In the singular it occurs 
twenty-nine times, and invariably means a graven or 
carved image. In the plural it occurs twenty-three 
times, and always means graven or carved images, un- 
less Judges iii. 19, 26 form an exception. There the 
common version renders the word quarries (margin 
graven images). Possibly the word does here desig- 
nate the beds of rock, whence stones were hewn. 
But both the Vulgate and the Douay Bible in each 
of these verses have idols; " where were the idols," 
&c, "the place of the idols ;" so that in the only places 
where the word may possibly mean something else 
than graven images, Rome decides that it means 
idols. But in the second commandment, the church 
of Borne for images reads things. If we should yield 
that things should be preferred to images, with the 
candid scholar it would really not aid the cause of 
idolatry. But so clearly does the word mean not 
thing but image that the church of Rome herself has 
*to admit it in Deut. iv. 16. 44 Lest perhaps being de- 
ceived you might make you a graven similitude, or im- 
age of male or female." So at last Rome yields even 
this point. Again, in 2 Chron. xxxiii. 7, 19, in the 
Douay Bible we have statue and statues, not things. 
Here it is fairly admitted that the word does not 



192 



THE SECOND COMMANDMENT. 



mean thing, but statue or image. In 2 Chron. xxxiv. 
3, 4, the Douay Bible twice renders it idols. The Vul- 
gate has simulacra. Indeed the word uniformly 
points to some figure or representation containing a 
similitude of some thing that is supposed once 4o have 
had life. 

The Hebrew word [Temunah] rendered likeness 
occurs ten times. In the common version it is once 
rendered image, Job iv. 16 ; four times similitude, 
Num. xii. 8 ; Deut. iv. 12, 15, 16 ; and five times like- 
ness, Ex. xx. 4 ; Deut. iv. 23, 25, v. 8 ; Ps. xvii. 15. 
Patrick says : " The difference between Pesel, which 
we translate graven image, and Temunah, which we 
translate likeness, seems to be, that the former was 
a protuberant image, or a statue made of wood, stone, 
&c, and the other only a picture drawn in colours 
upon a wall or board." &c. 

Besides graven or carved images, God forbade the 
making or worshipping of molten images [Mas-seh-chah]. 
The word occurs twenty-seven times in the Hebrew 
Bible, and with the exception of Isa. xxx. 1, it is uni- 
formly rendered molten, molten image or in the plural 
molten images. In Deut. ix. 12, the Douay Bible has 
" molten idol ;" and in 3 Kings xiv. 9, " molten gods ;" 
and in 2 Chron. xxviii. 2, "statues." So that every 
kind of representation of the object of worship by 
casting melted metals, by carving, and by painting, is 
here forbidden. 

The cherubim which stood over the ark, are never 
called pesel or peselim, because they were not wor- 
shipped. For the same reason the brazen serpent is 
never called pesel. The graven images were wor- 
shipped as the representation or habitation of some 



THE SECOND COMMANDMENT. 



198 



deity. They presented to the eye of the worshipper 
something claiming religious veneration. So that any 
representation of the true God or of a false god would 
have been a pesel. It was an image used in religious 
worship. 

The church of Rome also renders by the word 
adore the word [shah-gah] which we translate bow 
down in this commandment. The reason of this dif- 
ference is, that Rome teaches that there is due to cer- 
tain objects much religious homage and veneration 
which yet do not amount to adoration. The word 
does indeed mean worship, but worship by bowing 
down. So clear is this that the Douay Bible renders 
the same verb make obeisance, Gen. xliii. 28 ; falling 
flat, Num. xxii. 31 ; bowed, Gen. xxxiii. 6 ; bow down, 
Gen. xxiii. 7, 12; Gen. xxvii. 29; also in Gen. xxxiii. 
3 ; and twice in xxxiii. 7 ; also in xxxvii. 7, xlii. 6, 
xliii. 26, xlviii. 12, xlix. 8 ; and worship, Gen. xxii. 
5; see also Ex. xviii. 7, &c. So true is it, that 
whenever her doctors have no sectarian ends to ac- 
complish, even they admit that bow down or worship 
is the right rendering, and not adore, in their sense 
of that word. In fact, the Douay Bible (Gen. xxiii. 7) 
reads thus: "Abraham rose up, and bowed down to 
the people of the land." To this is this note affixed: 
" Bowed down to the people, adoravit, literally adored. 
But this word here, as well as in many other places 
in the Latin Scriptures is used to signify only an in- 
ferior honour and reverence paid to men, expressed 
by a bowing down of the body." This concedes the 
whole point in dispute. 

The church of Rome is so much annoyed by this 
second commandment, that she wholly omits all the 
17 



194 



THE SECOND COMMANDMENT. 



words of it in vast numbers of her formularies. Nor 
is this wonderful. For she authorizes and practises 
the use of graven images, or carved images, and of 
molten images, and of pictures in her worship. 

This worship of images has long been maintained 
with great earnestness by " the woman that sitteth on 
the seven hills." Sir Edward Coke (Inst. 3, p. 49), 
informs us that when Popery reigned in England a 
law was passed that " any persons, who affirm images 
ought not to be worshipped, be holden in strong 
prison, until they take an oath and swear to worship 
images." And the last general council of that cor- 
rupt communion, the Council of Trent, says, " Let 
them [i. e. all bishops, and others who have the care 
and charge of teaching] teach that the images of 
Christ, of the Virgin, Mother of God, and of other 
saints, are to be had and retained, especially in 
churches, and due honour and veneration paid to 
them." None will deny that in all countries, where 
worship is conducted by ministers of the church of 
Rome images do abound, and that the devotees do 
bow down before them, and hiss them, as Trent directs. 
All this is directly in the teeth -of the second com- 
mandment. 

That the church of Rome authorizes a like use of 
pictures is evident from her uniform usage, and from 
the decrees of the same council of Trent: "Let the 
Bishops teach further, that by the records of the 
mysteries of our redemption, expressed in pictures or 
other similitudes, men are instructed and confirmed 
in those articles of faith which are especially to be 
remembered and cherished ; and that great advantages 
are derived from all sacred images, not only because 



THE SECOND COMMANDMENT. 



195 



the people are thus reminded of the benefits and gifts 
which are bestowed upon them by Christ, but also 
because the divine miracles performed by the saints, 
and their salutary examples, are thus placed before the 
eyes of the faithful, that they may give thanks to 
God for them, order their lives and manners in imita- 
tion of the saints, and be excited to adore and love 
God, and cultivate piety. Whoever shall teach or 
think in opposition to these decrees, let him be ac- 
cursed." 

That in practice the Romish church does carry out 
this decree, none will deny. That she goes still fur- 
ther, and represents the Father, Son and Holy Ghost 
in pictures, is also matter of notoriety. In one of the 
public buildings of the Jesuit College at Georgetown, 
D. C. was, and perhaps still is, a picture represent- 
ing the Trinity. A draft of the picture and certifi- 
cates of its existence have been before the public for 
more than twenty years. They are now in the 
author's possession, and have been seen by many. 

That all this is according to the teaching of the 
doctrines of the Romish church, none will deny. 
Peter Dens says, "Are images of God or of the 
most holy Trinity proper ? Yes : although this is 
not so certain as concerning the images of Christ and 
the saints; as this was determined at a later pe- 
riod. 

"But it is to be observed that the Divinity cannot 
be depicted, but those forms are depicted under which 
God hath sometimes appeared, or to which divine at- 
tributes are paid in some similitude: thus God the 
Father is represented under the form of an old man ; 
because, Dan. vii. 9, we read that he appeared thus : 



196 



THE SECOND COMMANDMENT. 



And the Ancient of days sat; and the Holy Ghost 
under the form of a dove ; because he appeared thus : 
Matt. iii. 16. He saw the Spirit of Grod descending 
like a dove ; or under the form of cloven tongues, 
such as he appeared on the day of Pentecost, Acts ii. 
3. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues as it 
were of fire. , ' > 

That all this is directly contrary to the express 
teaching of God's word may be learned by a refer- 
ence to its earliest books. Thus says Moses: "The 
Lord spake unto you out of the midst of the fire : ye 
heard the voice of the words, but saw no similitude; 
only ye heard a voice. Take ye therefore good heed 
unto yourselves ; for ye saw no manner of similitude 
on the day that the Lord spake unto you in Horeb 
out of the midst of the fire: lest ye corrupt your- 
selves, and make you a graven image, the similitude 
of any figure, the likeness of male or female, the like- 
ness of any beast that is on the earth, the likeness of 
any winged fowl that flieth in the air, the likeness of 
anything that creepeth on the ground, the likeness 
of any fish that is in the waters beneath the earth. 
Take heed unto yourselves, lest ye forget the covenant 
of the Lord your God, which he made with you, and 
make you a graven image, or the likeness of any thing, 
which the Lord thy God hath forbidden thee. For 
the Lord thy God is a consuming fire, even a jealous 
God." Deut. iv. 12, 15-18, 23, 24. 

It is doubtless on this ground that Isaiah utters the 
fearful challenge: "To whom then will ye liken God? 
or what likeness will ye compare unto him?" Isa. 
xl. 18. Verily men are fearfully blind when they 
can "change the glory of the uncorruptible God into 



THE SECOND COMMANDMENT. 



197 



an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, 
and four-footed beasts, and creeping things." Rom. 
i. 23. 

The same Council of Trent says: "They are to be 
wholly condemned, as the church has long before con- 
demned them, and now repeats the sentence, who 
affirm that veneration and honour are not due to the 
relics of the saints, or that it is a useless thing that 
the faithful should honour these and other sacred mon- 
uments, and that the memorials of the saints are in 
vain frequented, to obtain their help and assistance." 
Some plea, if possible, must be set up for this species 
of idolatry. In his " Defence of Catholic Principles," 
Grallitzin says: "The Israelites venerated the brazen 
serpent, a type or figure of Christ." Num. xxi. 9. 
p. 129. This indeed is as good authority as can be 
brought for this purpose. How God regarded this 
veneration shown to the serpent appears from the re- 
cord of Scripture itself. Good king Hezekiah, who 
"did that which was right in the sight of the Lord," 
and who was a great reformer in the church of God, 
"destroyed the high places, and broke the statues in 
pieces, and cut down the groves, and broke the brazen 
serpent, which Moses had made: for till that time the 
children of Israel burnt incense to it: and he called 
its name Nohestan." This is the record given in the 
Douay Bible, 4 Kings xviii. 4. At the bottom is a 
note saying, that it was called Nohestan, their brass or 
a little brass in contempt, because they had made an 
idol of it. See Common Version, 2 Kings xviii. 4. 
But Gallitzin says, that in all this worship of images, 
pictures, and relics, there "is nothing but what every 
Christian must approve as conformable to the word 
17 * 



198 



THE SECOND COMMANDMENT. 



of God and to reason. St. John the Baptist vener- 
ated the very latchets of our Saviour's shoes." Mark 
i. 7. The entire record of this matter in the Douay 
Bible is in these words: John said, "There cometh 
after me one mightier than I, the latchet of whose 
shoes I am not worthy to stoop down and loose." 
Truly these are slender foundations on which to rear 
the immense fabric of Popish idolatry. John ex- 
presses no veneration for Christ's shoes, but simply 
declares that he himself was not worthy to perform 
the humblest office of kindness to the Saviour. As 
if to cut off all occasion for this species of idolatry, 
our blessed Saviour left no keepsakes among his dis- 
ciples. It was his executioners that divided his rai- 
ment and cast lots upon his vesture. On the forego- 
ing topics, see Bingham, vol. ii., pp. 511-518, 523- 
525; vol. iv., pp. 140, &c. ; vol. vii. 458-462. 

II. IDOLATEY ABSURD AND CRIMINAL. 

Idolatry, in all its forms, is a sin so gross, and ex- 
pressive of so much folly and stupidity, that it is 
marvellous that men should ever commit it. To in- 
spired writers it is a theme of just and severe ridi- 
cule, not the less pungent because a simple statement 
of its grossness is all that is required to show its ab- 
surdity. The Psalmist says, "Their idols are silver 
and gold, the work of men's hands. They have 
mouths, but they speak not; eyes have they, but they 
see not; they have ears, but they hear not; noses have 
they, but they smell not: they have hands, but 
they handle not: feet have they, but they walk not: 
neither do they speak through their throat." Well 
does he add, "They that make them are like unto 



THE SECOND COMMANDMENT. 



199 



them: so is every one that trusteth in them." Ps. 
cxv. 4-8. In like manner Isaiah ridicules at length 
the whole process of making and worshipping idols: 
"They that make a graven image are all of them 
vanity ; and their delectable things shall not profit : 
and they are their own witnesses; they see not, nor 
know; that they may be ashamed. Who hath formed 
a god, or molten a graven image that is profitable for 
nothing? Behold, all his fellows shall be ashamed; 
and the workmen, they are of men: let them all be 
gathered together, let them stand up ; yet they shall 
fear, and they shall be ashamed together. The smith 
with the tongs both worketh in the coals, and fash- 
ioneth it with hammers, and worketh it with the 
strength of his arms: yea, he is hungry, and his 
strength faileth; he drinketh no water, and is faint. 
The carpenter stretcheth out his rule; he marketh it 
out with a line; he fitteth it with planes, and he 
marketh it out with the compass, and maketh it after 
the figure of a man, according to the beauty of a 
man ; that it may remain in the house. He heweth 
him down cedars, and taketh the cypress and the oak, 
which he strengtheneth for himself among the trees of 
the forest: he planteth an ash, and the rain doth 
nourish it. Then shall it be for a man to burn ; for 
he will take thereof and warm himself; yea, he kin- 
dleth it, and baketh bread; yea, he maketh a god, 
and worshippeth it; he maketh it a graven image, 
and faileth down thereto. He burnetii part thereof 
in the fire; with part thereof he eateth flesh; he 
roasteth roast, and is satisfied : yea, he warmeth him- 
self, and saith, Aha, I am warm, I have seen the fire : 
and the residue thereof he maketh a god v even his 



200 



THE SECOND COMMANDMENT. 



graven image: he falleth down unto it, and worship- 
ped it, and prayeth unto it, and saith, Deliver me; 
for thou art my god. They have not known nor un- 
derstood: for he hath shut their eyes, that they can- 
not see; and their hearts that they cannot under- 
stand. And none considereth in his heart, neither is 
there knowledge nor understanding to say, I have 
burned part of it in the fire ; yea, also I have baked 
bread upon the coals thereof; I have roasted flesh, and 
eaten it: and shall I make the residue thereof an 
abomination ? shall I fall down to the stock of a tree ? 
He feedeth on ashes : a deceived heart hath turned 
him aside, that he cannot deliver his soul, nor say, Is 
there not a lie in my right hand?" Isa. xliv. 9-20. 
In like manner Elijah mocked the priests of Baal, 
and said: "Cry aloud, for he is a god: either he is 
talking, or he is pursuing, or he is in a journey, or 
peradventure he sleepeth, and must be awaked. And 
they cried aloud, and cut themselves after their man- 
ner with knives and lancets, till the blood gushed out 
upon them." 1 Kings xviii. 27, 28. In all this ridi- 
cule there is no caricature, no exaggeration. It is all 
fair, because it is simple truth. 

Yet absurd as are the usages of open idolatry, there 
is no light in science, literature, philosophy, civiliza- 
tion, or the arts, that can show its silliness so glow- 
ingly as to banish it from among men. As Athens 
rose in eloquence and philosophy, so did she rise in 
her devotion to false gods, until in the days of Paul, 
besides hosts of idols famous in Greece, she had her 
altar erected to the Unknown G-od, and was, as the 
Scriptures testify, wholly given to idolatry, Acts xvii. 
16, or as it is in the margin, she was "full of idols." 



THE SECOND COMMANDMENT. 



201 



The very word in Hebrew, which we render idol, 
means a vanity, nothing, naught. In Jeremiah (xiv. 
14,) the same word is rendered " a thing of nought." 
The man of Uz says to his friends, " Ye are all phy- 
sicians of no value," literally, idol or vain physicians. 
Job xiii. 4. The "idol shepherd" of Zechariah (xi. 
17,) is a worthless shepherd, whose care of the flock 
amounts to nothing. It may be to this signification 
of the word, as well as to the futility of all idol wor- 
ship, that Paul alludes when he says: "What say 
I then? that the idol is any thing, or that which is 
offered in sacrifice to idols is any thing?" Again: 
"We know that an idol is nothing in the world." 
1 Cor. viii. 4, x. 19. Men never do a more vain and 
empty thing than when they make or serve an idol. 
It is as foolish and as unproductive of good, as when 
one beats the air. 

Idols themselves and the worship of them are in 
Scripture often styled an abomination. Ex. viii. 26; 
Deut. vii. 26; 1 Kings xi. 7, xiv. 24; 2 Chron. xv. 
; 8; Isa. xliv. 19; Ezek. xviii. 12. Some also explain 
Daniel xi. 31, as referring to the images carried by 
the Romans, and to the pictures on the Roman 
standard, which were an abomination to the Jews, 
who after the captivity fell no more into the worship 
of either images or pictures, but all such things were 
an abomination to them. In 1 Maccabees, i. 54, we 
have the very phrase "abomination of desolation" 
applied to the image of Jupiter Olympus, which An- 
tiochus had caused to be set up on the altar of God. 

That idolatry is the abhorrence of God and of 
good men, is evident from the New Testament. Peter 
(1st Epistle, iv. 3,) speaks of "abominable idolatries." 



202 



THE SECOND COMMANDMENT. 



So carefully did God guard his ancient people 
against idolatry, that he would not permit them to 
bring home with them as trophies the idols of the 
nations whom they conquered in war. He required 
all such images to be at once burnt with fire. Nay 
more, he would not permit them to strip the idol of 
its rich ornaments, before they destroyed ijt, "lest 
they should be snared therein." The reason he assigns 
is, that "it is an abomination to the Lord thy God." 
Deut. vii. 25. 

How often and earnestly God condemns all idolatry 
may be seen in many Scriptures. The following are 
mere samples of what he often says: "Ye shall make 
you no idols nor graven image, neither rear you up a 
standing image, neither shall ye set up any image of 
stone in your land, to bow down unto it: for I am the 
Lord your God." Lev. xxvi. 1. Compare Deut. iv. 
15, xii. 2, 3, xxxii. 16-20 ; Josh. xxiv. 20, 23. By 
David God clearly declares a fact, which ought never 
to be forgotten, as it can never be safely denied, viz. : 
that idolatry is productive of untold miseries, even in 
this life: "Their sorrows shall be multiplied that 
hasten after another God." Ps. xvi. 4. See also 
Jer. ix. 14, 15, xliv. 2-9; Ezek. xx. 18-26; Acts 
xvii. 29; 1 Cor. x. 14, xii. 2 ; 2 Cor. vi. 16 ; 1 John 
v. 21 ; Rev. ix. 20. If any doubt the horrible 
wretchedness of ancient heathenism, let him read the 
writings of the early fathers of the church, who had 
been converted from Gentilism. They often write 
like men, who had escaped from horrors, of which 
those who had been born in Christian lands, can 
hardly form a conception. And if any suppose that 
modern heathenism is a whit better, let him hear the 



THE SECOND COMMANDMENT. 



203 



testimony of many, who have been eye-witnesses of 
its cruelties. 

The whole process of consecrating a heathen idol 
has in no important particular probably varied for 
thousands of years. The present mode of dedicating 
an idol is described by the prophet Daniel, five 
hundred and eighty years before Christ. Dan. iii. 5-7. 

The following passages of Scripture condemning 
idolatry can be added to those already cited. They 
are all from the New Testament. 1 Cor. vi. 9 ; Gal. v. 
20; Eph. v. 5; 1 Thess. i. 9; Rev. xxi. 8, xxii. 15. 

III. THE WORDS OF PROHIBITION EXPLAINED. 

Let us revert for a little time to the words of the 
second commandment. One would think their import 
unmistakable. They positively forbid the making of 
images or likenesses for any religious use. The 
Douay Bible itself has a full pause or period at the 
end of the fourth verse of the twentieth chapter of 
Exodus. If it had not, the prohibition is clear 
against making images and against bowing down to 
images, and against serving them. The prohibition 
to make is repeated in Lev. xxvi. 1, and Deut. v. 8. 
That the second commandment does not forbid the 
cultivation of the fine arts, is generally agreed. But 
making any images or likenesses for religious service 
is forbidden. The terms of prohibition are very com- 
prehensive. The image or likeness is not to be of 
any thing in heaven above. According to the Jews 
there were three heavens. 1. The aerial or atmo- 
spheric. No image or likeness of any flying bird or 
fowl may therefore be made for religious service, 
even though it be a dove. 2. The Jews spoke of the 



204 



THE SECOND COMMANDMENT. 



starry heavens. As we are forbidden to worship the 
sun, moon, and stars, so are we forbidden to make 
images of them for worship. 3. The Jews spoke of 
the third heaven, or heaven of heavens, the abode of 
God, the residence of saints and angels. No image 
or likeness of any inhabitant of this celestial city is 
to be made. Then the commandment forbids the 
making of any image or likeness of any thing that is 
in the earth beneath. These are men, beasts, fowls 
that walk the earth and do not fly, trees, plants, tim- 
ber, crosses, bodies of men, living or dead, &c. Then 
we are forbidden to make an image or likeness of 
any thing that is in the water under the earth, such as 
of fishes of almost countless varieties and monsters 
of the deep. Of none of these may we make any 
representation for religious service. We are not 
only forbidden to make them, but to bow down to 
them. We may not bow the head, or the knee, or 
the whole body to them, nor uncover the head to them, 
nor kiss the hand to them, nor kiss them. Josh, xxiii. 
16; Judges ii. 17; 1 Kings xix. 18; Job xxxi. 26, 27; 
Hos. xiii. 2. Nor may we show them the least token 
of respect, nor make to them any manner of obeisance. 

Nor may we serve them, either as God's people 
serve him, or as the heathen serve their false gods by 
praising them, praying to them, building houses, or 
altars for their worship, carrying them in proces- 
sions, or in any manner whatever commending them. 

The reasons, why this precept is so often repeated 
and so much insisted on, are that God has a great 
zeal for the purity of his worship ; that man is very 
gross and corrupt in his conceptions of God ; that he 
has a peculiar dislike to spiritual worship : that all 



THE SECOND COMMANDMENT. 



205 



history shows his special liability to fall into idolatry ; 
that the least corruption of worship, however well in- 
tended, is sure in the end to mislead many ; and that 
men who fall into errors in worship, especially into 
any form of idolatry, are full of all bitterness and 
horrible malice in promoting at all costs their abomi- 
nable practices. Matt. xv. 9; Isa. xlii. 8; Rom. i. 
23, 28 ; Ex. xxxii. 1-8 ; Jer. ii. 11 ; 1 Kings xviii. 
28; Ps. cvi. 36-38. The world furnishes not a 
single instance of an idolatrous people, who were not 
a bitterly persecuting people. Very strikingly does 
the author of the Apocryphal book of Wisdom of 
Solomon speak of idolatry: "The devising of idols 
was the beginning of spiritual fornication, and the 
invention of them, the corruption of life. For neither 
were they from the beginning, neither shall they be 
for ever. For by the vain-glory of men, they en- 
tered , into the world, and therefore shall they come 
shortly to an end. For a father afflicted with un- 
timely mourning, when he hath made an image of his 
child soon taken away, now honoured him as a . god 
which was then a dead man, and delivered to those 
that were under him ceremonies and sacrifices. Thus 
in process of time an ungodly custom grown strong 
was kept as a law, and graven images were wor- 
shipped by the commandments of kings." Chap xiv. 
12-16. See much more in the same chapter. 

IV. EXAMPLES OF WORSHIP CORRUPTED. 

The Scriptures record four cases of introducing 
human inventions into the worship of Jehovah. 
Every one of them proved a snare to men's souls, 
and was an offence to the Most High. 
18 



206 THE SECOND COMMANDMENT. 

1. The first was the making of the golden calf at 
the foot of Mount Sinai. The whole account is given 
in the thirty-second chapter of Exodus. That this was 
a professed attempt to honour the God of heaven 
seems evident from the record itself, as well as 
from the circumstances of the case. Indeed, Aaron 
said, " To-morrow is a feast to the Lord ;" the 
original word is Jehovah. Israel could hardly have 
sunk so low as now to admit that the idols of 
Egypt, or rather, that a calf not made till they 
reached Horeb had delivered them. But they at- 
tempted to worship Jehovah under this sacred sign 
of the Egyptians. And yet, no sooner had they the 
calf, than down went all their conceptions of a spirit- 
ual God, and they cried, " These be thy gods, 0 Is- 
rael, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt." 
They wanted some visible object to " go before them ;" 
and in this they committed great sin. God himself 
says, "They have corrupted themselves." v. 7. And 
Moses says, " Oh this people have sinned a great sin," 
and Paul says, that they were idolaters. 1 Cor. x. 7. 
Compare Ex. xxxii. 6. And Stephen, in his last ad- 
dress says, " They made a calf in those days, and of- 
fered sacrifice unto the idol, and rejoiced in the works 
of their own hands." Acts vii. 41. 

Kurtz : " The stringency and exclusiveness of the 
Mosaic monotheism, and the earnestness with which 
it held fast to the notion of the absolute spirituality 
of God, required that the worship of Jehovah by 
images and symbols should be held up as equally 
reprehensible with actual idolatry, that both should 
be punished as rebellion against Jehovah ; in fact, that 
both should be represented under exactly the same 



THE SECOND COMMANDMENT. 



207 



point of view. It is easy enough to distinguish them 
in theory ; but in practice the limits drawn by theory 
are quickly disregarded and overstepped. Aaron was 
a theorist of this kind : he said, (Ex. xxxii. 5,) 6 To- 
morrow is the feast of Jehovah;' but the people had 
1 asked for a god to go before them.' (Ex. xxxii. 1.) 
Hence they had rejected the God who had gone be- 
fore them in the pillar of cloud and fire, and demanded 
to be led in a different way ; they wanted a God to go 
before them in a more tangible form, and not en- 
veloped in the pillar of cloud. They probably had no 
intention of rejecting and denying their God, Je- 
hovah, for they said : ' This is the God who brought 
us up out of the land of Egypt,' (Ex. xxxii. 8,) but 
they merely retained the name of Jehovah, and sub- 
stituted a different and totally heterogeneous idea. 
The Jehovah worshipped by the people in the form of 
the golden calf was as much an idol as Apis, Moloch, 
and Dagon ; and the people acted in violation of the 
command in Ex. xx. 3, quite as much as of that in 
Ex. xx. 4." The only grammatical difficulty in admit- 
ting Kurtz's explanation relates to the demonstrative 
pronoun these in the eighth verse. It is plural ; but 
the translators of our English Bible in Ex. xxxviii. 
21, render it in the singular this, and Gesenius says 
that some suppose it is used in the sense of a singular 
in 2 Chron. iii. 3 ; Ez. i. 9 ; Ezek. xlvi. 24 ; though 
he says these passages are uncertain. There is not 
much doubt that it sometimes has a singular sense. In 
1 Chron. xxiv. 5, it is rendered one sort with another. 

2. The next case in point of time of an attempt to 
worship Jehovah by symbolical representations was 
that of Micah and his mother, recorded in the seven- 



208 THE SECOND COMMANDMENT. 



teenth and eighteenth chapters of Judges. His mo- 
ther blessed Micah in the name of Jehovah, (xvii. 2.) 
She said, " I had wholly dedicated the silver unto the 
Lord (Hebrew, Jehovah) from my hand for my son, 
to make a graven image and a molten image." When 
Micah had done so, a Levite came to Mount Ephraim, 
to the house of Micah, and Micah said to him, " Dwell 
with me, and be unto me a father and a priest." 
When he had secured the services of this man, he 
said, " Now know I that the Lord (Jehovah) will do 
me good, seeing I have a Levite to my priest." (xvii. 
13.) When the Danites came and found this priest, 
he said to them, " Before the Lord (Jehovah) is your 
way wherein ye go." (xviii. 6.) And yet, by confes- 
sion of all, this entire worship was gross idolatry. 

3. The next case is that of Jeroboam, who made 
and set up the calves to be worshipped by the people. 
There is hardly a doubt that he intended these images 
as representations of the true God. His object is 
generally thought not to have been to withdraw Israel 
from the worship of Jehovah, but to prevent the king- 
dom from returning to the house of David. So he 
distinctly avows. He wanted a worship which would 
as well satisfy the ten tribes as the splendid service 
in Jerusalem. One of the calves he put in Bethel, 
and the other in Dan. He wanted some sensible 
signs that would fill their imaginations with the belief 
that Jehovah was present there as well as at Jeru- 
salem. That he did not design the introduction of 
the worship of new gods, seems to be evident from a 
declaration in 1 Kings xvi. 31, where God says of 
Ahab that " it came to pass, as if it had been a light 
thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam, the 



THE SECOND COMMANDMENT. 



209 



son of Nebat. . . . and went and served Baal and 
worshipped him." And yet God says to Jeroboam, 
" Thou hast done evil above all that were before thee : 
for thou hast gone and made thee other gods, and 
molten images, to provoke me to anger, and hast cast 
me behind thy back." For this sin, Jehovah threat- 
ened the extinction of all the males of Jeroboam's 
family ; and in due time he did " take away the rem- 
nant of the house of Jeroboam, as a man taketh away 
dung, till it be all gone." 1 Kings xiv. 10. The 
destruction of this race became a by-word in Israel. 
1 Kings xvi. 3. And long after the death of Jero- 
boam, this sin of his is mentioned to his disgrace ; for 
thus he "made Israel to sin." Kurtz, having spoken 
of the idolatry respecting Aaron's calf, says : " In the 
same way may Jeroboam have set up the bulls at Dan 
and Bethel as images of Jehovah, but in practice the 
people were not able to make so nice a distinction as 
he. Now, such dangerous distinctions as these, the 
law would at once cut up by the root, if it placed the 
false worship of Jehovah in precisely the same cate- 
gory as the worship of idols, and this it has done. 
For it is a false idea to suppose that Ex. xx. 4, re- 
fers to symbolical images of Gfod alone, and not to 
idolatrous images also." However Jeroboam refined, 
the people came right out and said, " Behold thy gods, 
0 Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of 
Egypt." 1 Kings xii. 28; or, Behold thy God, 0 
Israel, &c. 

4. The fourth kind of human invention leading to 
idolatry, was the use of groves and high places in the 
worship of Jehovah. God claimed the right of fixing 
the place as well as the manner of his worship. Deut. 
18 * 



210 THE SECOND COMMANDMENT. 

xii. 5. He solemnly declared against these imitations 
of heathen worship, while the people were yet at the 
foot of Sinai. Lev. xxvi. 30. Yet so firmly rooted 
was the devotion of Eastern nations to this mode of 
worship that it required a long time and the judg- 
ments of Heaven, and the zeal of great reforming 
kings wholly to abolish it. See 2 Chron. xxxiii. 17 ; 
2 Kings xxiii. 13, 14, and many other places. Solo- 
mon himself fell into this sin. 1 Kings iii. 3. The 
Assyrians were by sore judgments brought so far to 
confess Jehovah that they worshipped him in the 
same manner. 2 Kings xvii. 24—33. See, also, 2 
Chron. xiv. 4. When great reformers were raised 
up, they found it necessary to cut down the groves 
and utterly to demolish the apparatus of worship in 
high places. So dangerous is it to tamper with the 
worship of God instituted by himself. Men always 
err when they revise the wisdom of Omniscience, par- 
ticularly so in matters of worship. 

V. VAIN PLEAS FOR BREAKING THE SECOND COM- 
MANDMENT. 

The plea of modern idolaters that they do not wor- 
ship the image, but God by the image, that the mate- 
rial effigy is nothing but a sign used to help devotion ; 
and that it cannot be unlawful to make an image of 
God somewhat resembling the figure of a man, be- 
cause God made man in his own image, were antici- 
pated by the heathen long ago, in vindication of their 
idolatry. If God has said that the use of the cross 
in baptism is a part of the ordinance, then we are 
bound to use it. If he has said no such thing, we are 
not only at liberty to reject it, but we are bound to 



THE SECOND COMMANDMENT. 



211 



do so, as often as men or churches attempt to make it 
obligatory upon our consciences. The same is true of 
immersion and of trine-immersion, and of sprinkling, 
and pouring. So in respect of kneeling at the Lord's 
supper. If any choose in a spirit of devotion to 
Christ then to kneel, they are at liberty to do so. 
But if men refuse us the elements unless we will per- 
form this gesture before them, we may not yield to 
their invention. The same is true respecting days of 
Fasting or of Thanksgiving, resting solely upon hu- 
man authority. Each man must be his own judge 
whether the providence of God calls him or not to 
such a service. The same is true of festival-days in 
the church of God. All the religious liberty that is 
now upon earth is the fruit of resistance to attempts 
on the part of churches and civil authorities to bind 
men's consciences where God has left them free. Hu- 
man ingenuity is great, but it is expressly forbidden 
to bring its inventions into God's worship : "Ye 
shall not do after all the things that we do here this 
day, every man whatsoever is right in his own eyes." 
Deut. xii. 8. Compare Deut. xii. 29-32. We do 
then grossly violate this commandment when we make 
any representation of the Most High, or of any of 
his perfections either by image or painting ; when we 
make an image of any creature or thing for religious 
use ; when we worship the true God in the use of 
images, or by adopting any of the practices of idola- 
ters ; when we believe the Most High is peculiarly 
present in any one place, house, statue, painting or 
relic ; when any reverence due to God alone is given 
to any creature, as when the inhabitants of Lystra 
brought oxen and garlands to sacrifice to Paul and 



212 



THE SECOND COMMANDMENT. 



Barnabas. Acts xiv. 11-15. It was idolatry in Cor- 
nelius to worship Peter, and would have been highly 
criminal had he persisted in it, when warned not to 
do it. Acts x. 25, 26. It would have been idolatry 
in John had he worshipped the angel, when told that 
he was a creature. Rev. xxii. 8, 9. It cannot be 
innocent, therefore, for European Christians to make 
images of Hindoo and Chinese gods, and transport 
them as articles of merchandize, to be dedicated and 
worshipped in Eastern countries ; nor for any one to 
represent the Omniscience of God by a huge eye, some- 
times denominated the All-seeing Eye. We are no 
more at liberty to worship the true God in a false 
way than we are to worship false gods. 

VI. WE OFEEND AGAINST THIS PRECEPT IN DOCTRINE. 

We do this when we entertain carnal views and 
gross apprehensions of God, Acts xvii. 29 ; Ps. 1. 21 ; 
when we give heed to the doctrine of devils, 1 Tim. 
iv. 1 ; when we are carried about with strange doc- 
trines, Heb. xiii. 9 ; when we are unwilling to hear 
sound doctrine, 2 Tim. iv. 3 ; or do not relish that 
which is according to godliness, 1 Tim. vi. 3 ; when 
we are not nourished in the words of good doctrine, 
1 Tim. iv. 6 ; when we do not obey the form of doc- 
trine delivered to us in the Scriptures, Rom. vi. 17 ; 
when we are carried about with every wind of doctrine, 
Eph. iv. 14 ; when we do not honestly inquire after the 
truth, Acts xvii. 5; when we are not willing to prac- 
tise what we do know, John vii. 17 ; when we are not on 
our guard against self-righteous teachings and against 
loose and Antinomian opinions. Matt. xvi. 6, Rev. ii. 14, 
15. There is not a truth of Scripture that is not "profit- 



THE SECOND COMMANDMENT. 



213 



able for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruc- 
tion in righteousness." 2 Tim. iii. 16. We are no 
more at liberty to entertain loose opinions, however 
popular or plausible, than we are to indulge in loose 
practices, because they are common or agreeable. We 
have no more right to modify or alter the principles 
of church government, as learned from the revealed 
will of God, than we have to change the objects of 
religious worship. The Bible tells what elements 
shall be used both in baptism and the Lord's supper. 
It has declared one day in seven to be holy time ; and 
all attempts to introduce into the church more holy 
days, or more elements in the sacraments, are as 
truly offensive to God as idol worship itself. The 
same is true of all attempts to make canonical, books 
that are apocryphal. All this is taught by God's 
word. Deut. iv. 3, Rev. xxii. 18, 19. It is sad in- 
deed, because it is sinful, when we introduce will-wor- 
ship into God's service. Col. ii. 18-23. If penances, 
pilgrimages, postures in worship, days and times are 
laid before us as matters to be conscientiously ob- 
served, it is mere superstition to yield to such de- 
mands. 

VII. THE SECOND COMMANDMENT IS OFTEN BROKEN 
IN PRAYER. 

There is no form of religion upon earth which does 
not include prayer. It is noticed in the Scriptures 
more than five hundred times. No duty is more 
clearly enjoined. Were it possible to find a man giv- 
ing all the other evidences of piety and yet leading a 
prayerless life, that one fact would sufficiently show 
the vanity of his professions. We are never in cir- 



214 THE SECOND COMMANDMENT. 



cumstances of joy or sorrow, sickness or health, where, 
if opportunity offered, the truly devout would not 
love to pray. No official station, no excellence of 
gifts, no experience in grace can put us beyond the 
need of prayer, till we enter the heavenly Jerusalem. 
Jesus Christ has left us two parables to encourage 
importunity in prayer. Nothing more effectually de- 
stroys the life of prayer than secret sin. " If I re- 
gard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me." 
Ps. lxvi. 18. 

Prayer is either secret or public. Secret prayer 
should, as far as possible, be secluded from the eyes 
of men. A church, street-corner, or a market is no 
fit place to offer our personal devotions. In the ser- 
mon on the mount, our Lord puts this matter beyond 
all doubt : "And when thou pray est, thou shalt not 
be as the hypocrites are : for they love to pray stand- 
ing in the synagogues, and in the corners of the streets, 
that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto 
you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou 
prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast 
shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret ; 
and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward 
thee openly." Matt. vi. 5, 6. 

Public prayer may be in the hearing of two or 
three friends, in a family, in a large company, or in 
the great congregation. Let us notice some particu- 
lars. 

1. There are some things which in no wise affect 
the efficacy of prayer. One of these is the posture. 
Standing, kneeling, and prostration are all sanctioned 
in Scripture. Let no man judge his brother in this 
matter. Church history informs us that in early 



THE SECOND COMMANDMENT. 



215 



times, the whole congregation stood with hands up- 
lifted towards heaven. Another non-essential is the 
use or disuse of written or printed forms. There is 
not much room for doubt that extemporaneous prayer, 
if the heart is rightly affected, is the most edifying. 
But in either method, wickedness, pride, and unbe- 
lief may reign, or love, faith, and confidence in God 
may prevail. Nor does the prevalence of prayer de- 
pend on the language employed. In public prayer, 
the words used should commonly be plain and simple. 
A scriptural phraseology is usually the best. But God 
looks beyond the words to the heart. His ears are 
never charmed with any sounds, however melodious, 
if the heart is wanting. Neither is he ever offended 
at our language, because it is broken, or rude, if it 
engage the pious affections. Nor does fluency, or the 
want of it cause God either to hear or to reject our 
petitions. He cares not for eloquence. He knows 
the meaning of a sigh — the language of a groan — the 
pleading of a tear. Nor does the length of a prayer 
determine its character. The thief on the cross used 
a prayer of less than ten words and obtained all he 
asked. David prayed all night for the life of his 
child, and in the morning it died. The publican's 
prayer consisted of one short sentence, and was heard ; 
the Pharisee's was long, and wordy, and worthless. 
Scriptural example seems to favour brevity. We are 
not heard for our much speaking. 

2. But there are some things which greatly hinder 
our prayers. When we do not really desire what we 
ask for, God is offended at our cries. Augustine says, 
that in the days of his unregeneracy, he "prayed for 
chastity and continence, but not yet." All such 



216 



THE SECOND COMMANDMENT. 



prayer is a mockery of God. And how many, too, 
are heedless respecting the answer to their petitions ! 
Men leave their prayer, as the ostrich does her egg, 
in the sand, to care for itself. It is well, when in our 
pious fervour, we cry out, " 0 Lord, how long?" When 
we ask God to gratify our wicked desires, or accom- 
plish our evil purposes, we may know that he will be 
offended with us. If our reason for desiring personal 
usefulness is that we may be conspicuous, it is a mercy 
in God to deny us our request. Men may pray for 
zeal, or gifts in God's cause, that they may be set 
on high. Our prayers are always wrong, when we do 
not, in our measure, exercise towards men the senti- 
ments which we ask God to show, without measure, 
towards us. If any ask for mercy, let him be careful 
to show it. If any pray for comforts, - let him do 
what he can to make all happy around him. If he 
desires God not to mark iniquity in him, let him be- 
ware lest severity of judgment form a part of his own 
character. "With what measure ye mete, it shall be 
measured to you again." Matt. vii. 2. If we pray 
with a right spirit, we will gladly use the right means, 
and be willing that God should employ the right 
measures to secure us an answer. If one ask for an 
abundant harvest, let him be careful to cultivate his 
crops, and let him not find fault with God for send- 
ing soaking rains. If one prays that he may be made 
a " workman, that needeth not to be ashamed," let 
him not refuse the course of study, discipline, and 
prayer, requisite to make him such. Some fail to se- 
cure an answer in peace, because they are impatient. 
" Blessed are all they that wait for him." Isa. xxx. 
18. "They shall not be ashamed that wait for me." 



THE SECOND COMMANDMENT. 



217 



Isa. xlix. 23. "I waited patiently for the Lord; and 
he inclined unto me, and heard my cry." Ps. xl. 1. 
Impatience is the offspring of turbulence, rebellion, 
and unbelief. Impatience is apt to lead to the for- 
saking of prayer. Nor can we expect cold, heartless 
prayers to prevail. " Elijah's prayer brought fire 
down from heaven, because, being fervent, it carried 
fire up to heaven." 

3. We all ought to pray more. As every faculty 
of body and mind, so every grace of the soul is im- 
proved by exercise. Prayer exercises all our .graces. 
If we do not love to pray, we have no genuine piety. 
None of God's children are born dumb. They can 
all, at least, cry. Our religious comfort materially 
depends upon our having much of the spirit of prayer. 
Our usefulness is also thereby greatly affected. More- 
over the Scriptures settle the question that prayer 
has powerful efficacy. The Bible, and all church 
history abound in records of its prevalence. Christ 
himself prayed much. " In the days of his flesh, 
when he had offered up prayers and supplications 
with strong crying and tears unto him that was able 
to save him from death, and was heard in that he 
feared." Heb. v. 7. 

4. We do, therefore, greatly sin against God's or- 
dinance of prayer when we lightly esteem it, in secret, 
in the family, or in the public assembly, Matt. vi. 6 ; Jer. 
x. 25 ; Acts ii. 42 ; Mai. iii. 14 ; when we do not seek 
the Spirit's aid in prayer, Rom. viii. 26 ; when we make 
light of those who are much exercised in this duty, 
1 Sam. i. 14 ; when we are not constantly in posses- 
sion of the spirit of prayer, 1 Thes. v. 17 ; when our 
hearts are reluctant to this duty, Job xv. 4 ; when we 

19 



218 



THE SECOND COMMANDMENT. 



do not shake off our sluggishness, and stir up our- 
selves to this duty, Isa. lxiv. 7 ; when we are impa- 
tient of God's delays in answering our prayers, Ps. 
xl. 1 ; when we do not prepare our hearts to this exer- 
cise, 1 Sam. vii. 3 ; when our prayers are full of words 
and not of desires, Eccles. x. 14; when our thoughts 
are like the fool's eyes, wandering everywhere, Prov. 
xvii. 24; when we do not earnestly desire to know 
what we ought to pray for, Rom. viii. 26 ; when we 
are satisfied with the gift without the grace of prayer, 
Matt. 'XV. 8 ; when we offer up our prayers without 
any lively faith, Heh. xi. 6 ; when we do not unite 
watching with prayer, Matt. xxvi. 41 ; Mark xiii. 33 ; 
when we are not burdened with a due sense of the 
sins which we confess before God; when we limit 
God's power to grant us things lawful, Ps. lxxviii. 41; 
2 Kings vii. 2 ; when our prayers are chiefly for our- 
selves and do not embrace all sorts and conditions of 
men, even those who are malignant towards us, 1 Tim. 
ii. 1-4; when we desire our petitions rather for our 
own advantage than for the glory of God, 1 Cor. vi. 
20; James iv. 3; when we are satisfied with the act 
of devotion without the presence and blessing of God ; 
when we use vain repetitions ; though all repetitions 
are not vain, for Augustine spent a whole night in 
offering up this one short prayer : Noverim te, Domine, 
noverim me; Grant that I may know thee, 0 Lord, 
and that I may know myself. We also sin when our 
prayers are self-righteous ; when, another leading our 
devotions, we do not heartily say, Amen, to all pro- 
per petitions, 1 Cor. xiv. 16 ; when we are not duly 
thankful for gracious answers ; when we are not duly 
humble for the defects in our prayers, and when we 



THE SECOND COMMANDMENT. 



219 



do not flee continually to the blood of Christ for 
cleansing from the sins of our holy things. 

VIII. WE BREAK THIS COMMANDMENT IN THE MANNER 
OF PRAISING GOD. 

Praise is offered to God for what he is, and for what 
he does. In the latter case it is commonly called 
thanksgiving. Both Scripture and providence fre- 
quently summon us to this duty. If it is a mark of 
bad manners not to thank men for acts of kindness ; 
surely it is a mark of a bad heart not to thank the 
Lord for his boundless goodness. Like prayer, praise 
is mentioned several hundred times in the Scriptures. 
It seems to be taught by natural religion. Even the 
heathen praise their gods. Judg. xvi. 23, 24; Dan. 
v. 4. Let us notice several particulars. 

1. Our great error respecting this duty is, that we 
do not engage in it with sufficient frequency or fer- 
vency. If we were more thankful for the mercies we 
receive, we should doubtless receive more mercies to 
be thankful for. As God's nature is unchangeable 
and his compassions infinite, it is impossible for us to 
praise him too much. It is much to be lamented that 
the children of sorrow should ever feel themselves 
exempt from the obligations of this duty. The most 
afflicted of mere men in the depth of his sorrows, 
cried out, "Blessed be the name of the Lord." Job 
i. 21. It should greatly commend this duty to us, 
that it is very delightful and refreshing to a contrite 
heart ; and that if through grace, we shall ever reach 
the kingdom of God, praise will be our employment 
for ever. No soul, that has been washed in atoning 
blood, shall, in passing Jordan, lose its harp. No! 



220 



THE SECOND COMMANDMENT. 



on the other side of "the river that has no bridge," 
the hand that had on earth touched its strings but 
feebly and awkwardly, shall strike them with a vigour 
and accuracy that shall entrance itself, and shall be 
well-pleasing to God. Paul says love is greater than 
faith or hope, not because it is more necessary here, 
but because it shall last for ever. By parity of 
reasoning, praise is greater than prayer or fasting. 
Ps. civ. 33, cxlvi. 2. The chief revenue God gathers 
from our lost world, is from the praises of his loving, 
penitent people. Can it be doubted that many of the 
dismal fears and terrible misgivings of God's children 
would vanish, if they did properly abound in this 
duty? " Whoso offereth praise glorifieth me : and to 
him that ordereth his conversation aright, will I show 
the salvation of God." "Is any merry? Let him 
sing psalms." Ps. 1. 23; James v. 13. 

2. Some seem to have the impression that under 
the old dispensation, abundant praise was more re- 
quired than under the new. But that is surely a 
mistake. "Be careful for nothing: but in every 
thing by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, 
let your requests be made known unto God." Phil, 
iv. 6. "Be filled with the Spirit: speaking to your- 
selves in psalms, and hymns, and spiritual songs, 
singing and making melody in your heart to the 
Lord; giving thanks always for all things unto God 
and the Father, in the name of our Lord Jesus 
Christ." Eph. v. 18-20. If Old Testament saints 
had much cause for abounding in praise and thanks- 
giving, as none but the wicked will deny ; surely New 
Testament saints have much greater cause for doing 
the same. " For if the ministration of condemnation 



THE SECOND COMMANDMENT. 



221 



be glory, much more doth the ministration of right- 
eousness exceed in glory If that which was 

done away was glorious, much more that which re- 
maineth is glorious." 2 Cor. iii. 9, 11. And if we 
are thus surrounded by the " glory that excelleth," 
we ought to say so in praises, and thanksgivings, and 
thundering hallelujahs. 

3. We sin against the ordinance of praise and 
thanksgiving when we reject it altogether, either 
from public or private worship, Ps. 1. 23; when we 
do not abound in it, Ps. Hi. 9 ; when we engage in it 
in a frivolous spirit, Ps. iv. 4 ; when neither our un- 
derstandings nor our hearts are truly engaged in the 
work, 1 Cor. xiv. 15; when we waver in this duty; 
when we look upon it as a task, Mai. i. 13 ; when we 
go from this duty and are no more thoughtful or 
watchful than we were before, Haggai i. 5-7 ; when 
we are willing the work of praise should be performed 
in an unedifying manner, 2 Chron. xxix. 11; when 
we enter into this service with malignant hearts, 
Luke vi. 37 ; when without sufficient cause, we excuse 
ourselves from uniting our voices with God's people 
in this service, Ps. xvi. 9, xxx. 12, lvii. 8; when in 
our praises we have not a due reference to the media- 
tion of Jesus Christ, Heb. xiii. 15; when we hinder 
or discourage others from engaging in this duty ; and 
when this part of divine worship is performed in any 
way contrary to the requirements of God in all acts 
of worship previously stated. 

IX. WE BREAK THE SECOND COMMANDMENT WHEN WE 
DO NOT RIGHTLY USE GOD'S WORD. 

Revealed truth is to be read, preached, heard, and 
19* 



222 



THE SECOND COMMANDMENT. 



meditated upon. This was true even under a darker 
dispensation. That none is exempt from the study 
of God's word is manifest from the Scriptures. John 
v. 39; Acts xv. 21; 2 Tim. iv. 2. The Lord gave it 
for a perpetual statute respecting the man who should 
be king over his people: "He shall write him a copy 
of this law in a book, out of that which is before the 
priests, the Levites : and it shall be with him, and he 
shall read therein all the days of his life: that he 
may learn to fear the Lord his God, to keep all the 
words of this law and these statutes to do them : that 
his heart be not lifted up above his brethren, and that 
he turn not aside from the commandment, to the right 
hand, or to the left: to the end that he may prolong 
his days in his kingdom, he, and his children, in the 
midst of Israel." Deut. xvii. 18-20. No cares of 
state, no engagedness in any office, can exempt its in- 
cumbent from the obligation of making himself ac- 
quainted with the word of life; and this with devout 
reverence and all the attributes of religious worship. 
In the council at Jerusalem, James declared, "Moses 
of old time hath in every city them that preach him, 
being read in the synagogues every Sabbath day." 
Acts xv. 21. And Jesus Christ has instituted a per- 
manent gospel ministry, the great object of whose 
appointment is to proclaim salvation, and cause the 
people to understand the word of the Lord. Eom. x. 
15; Eph. iv. 11, 12; Neh. viii. 7, 8, 13. So im- 
portant is this ministry that God has ordained that it 
shall be supported at the charge of the people, 1 Cor. 
ix. 14; 1 Tim. v. 18; and that all who are inducted 
into the sacred office shall be first proven to be fit and 
capable men. 1 Tim. iii. 6. All to whom the truth is 



THE SECOND COMMANDMENT. 



223 



preached are required to receive with meekness the 
engrafted word, which is able to save their souls, and 
to be doers of the word, and not hearers only, de- 
ceiving themselves. James i. 21, 22. We are bound 
carefully to guard the word of God against all cor- 
ruption in doctrine or practice. 

We do not give good heed to the second command- 
ment when we read or hear God's word in a prayer- 
less temper, 2 Thess. iii. 1; when we do not labour 
to attend upon the word without distraction, 1 Cor. 
vii. 35; when we are not thankful for the privilege 
of hearing God's word, Ps. ciii. 2; Heb. xiii. 15; 
when we do not, as new-born babes, desire the pure 
word of God, 1 Peter ii. 2 ; when we read or hear 
with our minds full of prejudice, 1 Kings xxii. 8; 
when we are actuated by no regard to God, but are 
merely following a custom, being satisfied with a de- 
cent appearance, Ezek. xxxiii. 31; when we do not 
earnestly lay hold of divine truth, Heb. ii. 1; when 
we do not believe the truth read or heard, Heb. iv. 
2 ; when we soon forget the truth, or fail to practise 
it, James i. 22-25; when we do not tremble at God's 
word, Isa. lxvi. 2 ; when from mere stupidity of 
mind, we sleep when we should be all attention ; Rom. 
xi. 8 ; when we are offended at the truth, Acts vii. 
54; when we have itching ears, 2 Tim. iv. 3; when 
we are satisfied with the gifts of the preacher, though 
there be no growth of grace in our own hearts ; when 
Ave go to the house of God rather to see and be seen, 
to notice and be noticed, than to hear what God the 
Lord will say ; when we are more pleased with enticing 
words of man's wisdom than with the words and wis- 
dom of the Holy Ghost, 1 Cor. ii. 1-5; when we do 



224 



THE SECOND COMMANDMENT. 



not set our hearts as a fair mark for the arrows of 
truth; when we dislike clear, discriminating, search- 
ing sermons; when we are more anxious after the 
curious than the profitable; when we do not embrace 
the promises of God ; when we believe that we have 
little more to do with God's word than to hear it and 
criticise the preacher ; when we irreverently treat any 
sacred truth; when we have little or no love to the 
truth as it is in Jesus; when slight excuses hinder us 
from hearing God's word; and when we put a low 
estimate upon the gospel ministry. 

X. WE MAY BREAK THE SECOND COMMANDMENT IN 
REGARD TO THE SACRAMENTS. 

Christ has instituted two sacraments in his house. 
Some corrupt communions have added four or five 
more without the slightest authority from Heaven. 
The sacraments of the Christian church are baptism 
and the Lord's Supper. Respecting these, we offend 
against God when we despise or neglect them ; when 
we do not regard them both as signs and seals of the 
righteousness which is by faith ; when we do not ob- 
serve them under the binding force of Christ's autho- 
rity ; when we observe them merely in conformity to 
custom, general usage, or the persuasion of others ; 
when we expect salvation by the sacraments them- 
selves ; when we exalt them to the place assigned to 
the Saviour himself; when we observe them in a su- 
perstitious frame of mind ; when we are more eager 
after the sign in the sacraments, than after the things 
signified thereby ; when we put a higher estimate on sac- 
ramental observances than on faith, justice, mercy or 
the love of God ; when we add to the Scriptural mode 



THE SECOND COMMANDMENT. 



225 



of their administration ; when we do not duly prepare 
our hearts by prayer and self-examination, 1 Cor. xi. 
28 ; when we rush thoughtlessly to the celebration of 
either of them, or needlessly delay their observance ; 
when we go from their celebration and become care- 
less or carnal in our affections ; when we do not en- 
deavour to have an abiding sense of the solemnity of 
sacramental acts : when we do not duly lament our im- 
perfections and the low esteem in which the sacraments 
are held ; when we do not earnestly desire our own 
edification and the glory of God in these ordinances ; 
when we indulge in censorious and uncharitable tem- 
pers toward fellow-professors, refusing Christian com- 
munion with those whose profession and practice re- 
quire the judgment of charity in their favour ; when 
we wish the sacraments, which are holy things, to be 
given unto the dogs ; or, when our observance of the 
sacred rites is marked by any of the deficiencies more 
particularly noticed in acts of worship discussed in 
previous pages. 

XI. ANOTHER DUTY RESPECTING WHICH WE HAVE 
FULL INSTRUCTIONS AND MANY WARNINGS IN GOD'S 
WORD IS THAT OF FASTING. 

This may be either of persons, as in the case of 
the great prophet of the captivity, Dan. ix. 3 ; or of 
families, as with Queen Esther and her maidens, Esth. 
iv. 16 ; or of churches, Acts xiii. 2, 3 ; or of cities, 
as of Nineveh, Jonah iii. 5 ; or of nations, Judg. xx. 
26. Christ instituted no stated fast, or fasts to be ob- 
served by individuals, families, churches or communi- 
ties. But he declared for the reasonableness of fast- 
ing under the gospel. He said, " Can the children 



226 THE SECOND COMMANDMENT. 



of the bride-chamber mourn as long as the bridegroom 
is with them ? but the days will come when the bride- 
groom shall be taken from them, and then shall they 
fast." Matt. ix. 15. We have also apostolic example 
for fasting ; and in every age, " Christians of the 
finer mould have had their private fasts." _ 

It is worthy of notice that fasting is a branch of 
worship in every system of religion now upon earth. 
From this some have inferred, perhaps not illogically, 
that it is a duty of natural religion. 

The Jews had but one annual fast, prescribed by 
the Lord. Lev. xxiii. 27-32. From this they could 
not plead exemption. The Pharisee, mentioned in the 
18th chapter of Luke, regarded himself as pre-emi- 
nently pious, because he added one hundred and three 
days of fasting over and above all that was required 
by that dispensation. Note these particulars. 

1. In fasting, abstinence from food is to be either 
total or partial so long as the fast lasts. Daniel says, 
" I ate no pleasant bread, neither came flesh nor wine 
in my mouth, neither did I anoint myself at all." 
Dan. x. 3. This was his mode of observing a fast 
which lasted three whole weeks. Where the fast is 
of short duration, the abstinence from food is total. 
Some say that all the fasting required under the gos- 
pel is, that we abstain from sin. But this we should 
do every day and all our lives. A Christian may in- 
deed observe a day of penitence and humiliation 
without fasting. But if he would observe a fast, let 
him abstain from all food or from pleasant food. It 
is but mocking God to eat, as some do, very heartily 
just before a fast and very greedily just afterwards. 
Epicures themselves sometimes do as much as that, in 



THE SECOND COMMANDMENT. 



227 



order to increase their relish for food. The fast of 
Moses, of Elijah, and of our Saviour, each lasting 
forty days (Ex. xxxiv. 28, 1 Kings xix. 8, Matt. iv. 
2) are no patterns to us. They ate no food, but 'were 
miraculously sustained. 

2. Others sin in the matter of fasting, because al- 
though they themselves abstain from labour, they re- 
lieve not those who are in their service. God charges it 
upon the Jews, that on their fast-days, they " exacted 
all their labours." They did not " undo the heavy bur- 
dens," they did not "let- the oppressed go free," they 
did not "break every yoke." Isa. lviii. 3, 6. Some are 
as severe and uncharitable on a fast-day as any other. 
At such a time, the wealthier should deal their bread 
to the hungry, and bring the poor that are cast out 
to their houses ; when they see the naked they should 
cover them, and they should not hide themselves from 
their own flesh. Isa. lviii. 7. If we can do no more, 
we can at least give the value of the food we would 
that day have eaten to such as really need it. 

3. A real fast calls for humiliation and repentance 
before God. Sorrow for sin should be deep and per- 
sonal, Zech. xii. 9-14. The miserable substitute 
offered for this consists in bowing the head as a bul- 
rush, Isa. lviii. 5 ; in disfiguring the face, Matt. vi. 
16 ; and putting on sanctimonious grimaces. Such 
arts are hateful to all right-minded men. How God 
abhors them, the Scriptures fully declare. 

4. To all right fasting, prayer should be added. 
So teach the Scriptures in many places. 

5. Some spoil their fasting by making it a cloak 
of maliciousness, 1 Pet. ii. 16. To such God says, 
" Behold ye fast for strife and debate, and to smite 



228 



THE SECOND COMMANDMENT. 



with the fist of wickedness." Isa. lviii. 4. If our 
fasting make us ill-natured, fretful, irritable or stub- 
born, surely it has done us no good. True fasting 
does not convert men into wild beasts. It does not 
make them resemble a bear robbed of her whelps. It 
does not foster anger, jealousy, discontent or sus- 
picion ; but it makes men kind, gentle, and charitable 
in their thoughts, words, and deeds. 

6. We always abuse a fast when we pervert it to 
self-righteousness as did the Pharisees ; when we fast 
for human admiration, Mait. vi. 16 ; when we have 
no solemn reference to God's authority and honour, 
Zech. vii. 5, 6 ; when we fast for a pretence, Mark 
xii. 40 ; when on a fast day, we find our own pleasure, 
Isa. lviii. 3 ; when we become weary of it, Amos viii. 
5 ; when we do not earnestly address ourselves to 
this solemn duty ; and when in general we observe it 
in violation of any Scripture principle respecting 
God's worship. 

Although the subjects of oaths, vows, and lots, are 
naturally suggested in this connection, they may per- 
haps as well be considered when we come to the third 
commandment. 

XII. LET US BRIEFLY CONSIDER CHURCH GOVERN- 
MENT AND DISCIPLINE. 

These are expressly instituted by Christ him- 
self, Matt. xvi. 19; Matt, xviii. 15-20. Nor are 
we at liberty to invest particular persons with power 
over their brethren in the ministry of the gospel. 
Matt. xx. 25-28. God has appointed all the offi- 
cers who shall bear rule in his house, both ordinary 
and extraordinary. 1 Cor. xii. 28 ; Eph. iv. 11. The 



THE SECOND COMMANDMENT. 



229 



use of discipline and the general principles by which 
it is to be administered are alike determined by the 
word of God. Matt, xviii. 15-17 ; 1 Cor. v. 4, 5 ; 

1 Tim. v. 20. While it is sinful, therefore, to op- 
pose church discipline in any of its proper ends, we 
are not at liberty, on the other hand, to make men 
lords of our faith. God's genuine servants disclaim 
all dominion in his house in this matter. 1 Cor. iii. 5 ; 

2 Cor. i. 24 ; 1 Pet. v. 3. Nor are we at liberty to 
yield, even for an hour, to those who would usurp 
such lordship over us. Gal. ii. 5. 

XIII. HOW THE CHURCH OF ROME BREAKS THIS COM- 
MANDMENT BY SUPERSTITION. 

Johnson defines superstition to be " Unnecessary 
fear or scruples in religion ; observance of unneces- 
sary or uncommanded rites or practices ; religion 
without morality." Brown defines it to be " Exces- 
sive exactness or rigour in religious opinions or prac- 
tice : extreme and unnecessary scruples in the obser- 
vance of religious rites not commanded, or of points 
of minor importance ; excess or extravagance in re- 
ligion ; the doing of things not required by God, or 
abstaining from things not forbidden ; or the belief of 
what is absurd, or belief without evidence." Perhaps 

i a still more exact definition is " The observance of un- 
necessary and uncommanded rites in religion ; reverence 
for objects not fit for worship ; scruples about matters 
lawful or indifferent; and extravagant devotions." 
Superstition is almost always connected with a 

I strange credulity on some points, and a singular in- 
credulity on others. It is often solemn respecting 

! what is unimportant or even ludicrous, and is yet 

20 



230 THE SECOND COMMANDMENT. 



irreverent and frivolous on at least some solemn sub- 
jects and occasions. It is exceedingly dangerous. 
Robert Hall : " Enthusiasm is an evil much less to 
be dreaded than superstition. Superstition is the 
disease of nations ; enthusiasm that of individuals ; 
the former grows inveterate by time, the latter is 
cured by it." John Owen: "As superstition is an 
undue fear of the divine nature, will, and operations, 
built on false notions and apprehensions of them, it 
may befal the minds of men in all religions, true and 
false. It is an internal vice of the mind." All su- 
perstition is based upon ignorance more or less gross. 
Minds not capable of close and just discrimination 
are peculiarly liable to it. A carnal state of the 
heart works up the imagination, and the fleshly mind 
seizes with great vigour upon its own conceptions. 
When one has not been made wise by God's word, 
and the affections become highly excited, plausible 
pretences are sufficient to mislead. Once enlisted in 
the cause of superstition, self-love causes persistence 
in it. Having some persuasion that holiness is essen- 
tial, and the natural heart rising in opposition to the 
requirements of God's law, the excited mind per- 
versely seeks out some method whereby to delude it- 
self into the persuasion that it is holy. The growth 
of superstition is by a very gradual process. Its 
whole history is written in three words, little by little. 
The only sure defence against it is the true know- 
ledge and genuine love of God, accompanied by a 
firm determination to do what he commands, to wor- 
ship as he directs, and to follow human devisings in 
nothing. " This is the fountain and principle of all 
error, that men think that those modes of worship 



THE SECOND COMMANDMENT. 



231 



which please them, must needs please God ; and what 
displeaseth them, must also displease him." 

Surely these principles are clear ; God alone has a 
right to state how he will be worshipped ; his word is 
the only means by which we can know his will ; his 
word clearly forbids all attempts to alter his worship, 
Ex. xxiii. 13 ; Deut. iv. 2 ; Gal. iv. 10, 11 ; and the 
great business of God's church is to defend his truth, 
and service from all corruption, Phil. i. 7, 17 ; Jude 
3 ; Rev. iii. 10. Let the church do her duty. 

Having previously noticed the breaking of the second 
commandment by the church of Rome through her 
idolatry, let us now see how she breaks it by her 
superstition. There is superstition in all idolatry ; 
but there is not necessarily idolatry in all super- 
stition. 

1. The Romish church is guilty of superstition in con- 
ducting her worship in an unknown tongue. In Italy, 
in Spain, in France, in England, in China, among the 
Indians of North America, indeed wherever her priests 
are found, they offer public devotions in Latin, which 
is now nowhere a living language. Even in Rome, 
it is no better understood by the common people than 
it is in America. It is mere mummery to pretend to 
worship God by the use of words which convey no 
idea whatever to the mind of the assembly. If I 
render to God a service which I do not understand, 
how can it be a reasonable service ? If it be not in- 
telligent, how does it differ from the unmeaning chat- 
tering of swallows, or a cawing of rooks ? The Bible 
has settled this question. Paul insists upon it that 
the edification of the church requires that the lan- 
guage used in her worship should be understood, 



232 • THE SECOND COMMANDMENT. 

The quotation is from the Douay Bible : " He that 
speaketh in a tongue, edifieth himself; but he that 
prophesieth, edifieth the church. And I would have 
you all to speak with tongues, but rather to prophesy. 
For greater is he that prophesieth, than he that 
speaketh with tongues ; unless, perhaps, he interpret, 
that the church may receive edification. But now, 
brethren, if I come to you, speaking with tongues, 
what shall I profit you, unless I speak to you either 
in revelation, or in knowledge, or in prophecy, or in 
doctrine ? Even things without life that give sound, 
whether pipe or harp, except they give a distinction 
of sounds, how shall it be known what is piped or 
harped ? For if the trumpet give an uncertain sound, 
who shall prepare himself to battle ? So likewise 
you, unless you utter by the tongue plain speech, how 
shall it be known what is spoken ? For you shall be 
speaking into the air. There are, for example, so 
many kinds of tongues in this world : and none is 
without a voice. If then I know not the power of the 
voice, I shall be to him, to whom I speak, a barbarian, 
and he that speaketh, a barbarian to me. So you 
also, forasmuch as you are zealous of spirits, seek to 
abound unto the edifying of the church. And, there- 
fore, let him that speaketh a tongue, pray that he 
may interpret. For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit 
prayeth, but my understanding is without fruit. 
What is it then ? I will pray in the spirit ; I will 
pray also in the understanding : I will sing with the 
spirit ; I will sing also with the understanding. Else 
if thou shalt bless in the spirit, how shall he that 
holdeth the place of the unlearned say Amen to thy 
blessing ? because he knoweth not what thou sayest. 



THE SECOND COMMANDMENT. 



233 



For thou indeed givest thanks well : but the other is 
not edified. I thank my God, T speak with all your 
tongues. But in the church I had rather speak five 
words with my understanding, that I may instruct 
others also ; than ten thousand words in a tongue. 
Brethren, do not become children in sense ; but in 
malice be children ; and in sense be perfect." 1 Cor. 
xiv. 2-20. The church of Rome feels this passage to 
be very condemnatory of her conduct ; so there must 
needs be a note affixed declaring herself free from 
violating it. The note is indeed wonderful. It is on 
the word, Amen, found in the sixteenth verse, and is 
in these words : " Amen. The unlearned not know- 
ing that ye are then blessing will not be qualified to 
join with you by saying Amen to your blessing. The 
use or abuse of strange tongues, of which the Apostle 
here speaks, does not regard the public liturgy of the 
church, (in which strange tongues were never used) 
but certain conferences of the faithful, v. 26, &c, in 
which, meeting together, they discovered to one 
another their various and miraculous gifts of the 
Spirit, common in those primitive times ; amongst 
which the apostle prefers that of prophesying, before 
that of speaking strange tongues, because it was more 
to the public edification. Where also note, that the 
Latin used in our Liturgy, is so far from being a 
strange or unknown tongue, that it is perhaps the 
best known tongue in the world." Whew ! ! ! 

But do Romanists assign no reason for this practice 
that converts public worship into gross superstition? 
The answer is, they do not, except such as sets aside 
the word of God. A private member of that com- 
munion being asked, Why the Liturgy was kept in a 
20* 



284 



THE SECOND COMMANDMENT. 



dead language ? replied, "The devil does not under- 
stand Latin." Whether this is a general opinion 
need not now be determined. But Reynolds Scott, a 
writer of great learning, says, " Our witching writers 
saie that divells speake onelie the language of that 
countrie where they are resiant, [resident,] as French, 
or English," &c. 

But must the people be kept from worshipping God 
understandingly, for fear the devil will know what is 
going on? And is it so certain, after all, that Satan 
is excluded from assemblies where the Latin is used? 

Some learned Papists tell us of the "numberless, 
barbarous, half-formed, and daily changing languages 
of modern Europe;" and ask, would it have been re- 
spectful, or secure, or prudent, or practicable, to have 
their Liturgy in these languages? The answer is, 
Why not ? The prophets, and Christ and the apostles, 
used the vernacular of the people to whom they spoke 
in their day. No part of the Bible was originally 
written in the Latin. Romanists have translated 
both Testaments into English. If God's word may 
lawfully be in our language, why may not the Roman 
Missal also? But the whole question is settled by 
God himself. In the passage already cited from Paul, 
it is shown that a religious service, conducted either 
in speaking, singing, or praying, in a language not 
understood by the congregation, is to be avoided, and 
that God's servants must earnestly desire gifts 
whereby they may edify the people. 

2. The use of relics in the church of Rome clearly 
proves the power and extent of superstition in that 
communion. Till of late, relics made but little noise 
in the United States. But no doubt we shall hear 



THE SECOND COMMANDMENT. 



235 



very soon and commonly of wonders performed by 
means of some old rag, or tooth, or bone, said once to 
have belonged to some one now esteemed a saint. In 
Rome itself, "they show the heads of St. Peter and 
St. Paul, encased in silver busts, set with jewels; a 
lock of the Virgin Mary's hair, a phial of her tears, a 
piece of her green petticoat, a robe of Jesus Christ 
sprinkled with his blood, some drops of his blood in a 
bottle, some of the water which flowed out of the 
wound in his side, some of the sponge, a large piece 
of the cross, all the nails used in the crucifixion, a 
piece of the stone of the sepulchre on which the angel 
sat, the identical porphyry pillar on which the cock 
perched when he crowed after Peter denied Christ, 
the rods of Moses and Aaron, and two pieces of the 
real ark of the covenant." Volumes might be filled 
with similar statements. In the Mass House at 
Dobborane, in Mechlenburg, Nugent says, they show 
the following relics: "1. Flax for spinning, which be- 
longed to the Virgin Mary. 2. Hay, which the wise 
men had for their camels and left behind them at 
Bethlehem. 3. A piece of the garment of Lazarus. 
4. A piece of linen worn by the Virgin Mary. 5. 
A piece of the head of Tobit's fish. 6. A part of 
Judas' bowels that fell out. 7. The scissors with 
which Delilah cut oif Samson's hair. 8. A piece of 
the apron which the butcher wore when he killed the 
fatted calf for the feast of the prodigal son. 9. One 
of the five stones which David put in his sling when 
he went out to meet Goliath. 10. The branch of the 
tree on which Absalom hung by the hair. 11. A 
part of Peter's fishing net. 12. The heads of the 
apostles Thomas, Peter, and Paul." 



236 



THE SECOND COMMANDMENT. 



3. In like manner one might refer to the super- 
stitious use of charms, by which the Romish church 
leads those in her communion to expect to avoid or 
expel certain natural evils, asserting her authority 
over noxious insects by means of holy water and cer- 
tain other superstitious acts and doings. 

4. The Romish church makes also high, though false 
pretences to the power of working miracles. The 
Catholic Herald, of Feb. 1, 1844, intimated an ex- 
pectation that some miracles might ere long be 
wrought at the graves of two deceased Roman bishops 
in this country. How perfectly idle all these claims 
are, it is not necessary here to discuss. Not one of 
them is accompanied by such evidences as to satisfy 
a reasonable spirit of inquiry. 

5. Nor are the tortures self-inflicted by members 
of the Romish church less superstitious. But enough 
of these disgusting themes. 



THE THIRD COMMANDMENT. 



237 



CHAPTER XVI. 

THE THIRD COMMANDMENT. 

Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord 
thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold 
him guiltless that taketh his name in vain. 

THE verb take, found in this commandment, occurs 
very often in the Bible. It is also rendered 
take up, take away, hear, bring, bring forth, stir, lift 
up, fetch, set up. Here, and in many other places, it 
has the sense of use or employ. 

The name of God is a phrase of frequent occurrence 
in the Bible. Few words are employed in more 
varied senses than the word name; and yet there is 
seldom difficulty in ascertaining its precise significa- 
tion. The name of God stands 1, for his proper name, 
as Jehovah, Grod, the Most High, the Almighty, I am 
what I am, &c, Deut. iv. 35 ; vi. 4; Num. xxiv. 16; 
Rev. i. 8; 2, for his titles, as Creator, Shepherd, Sa- 
viour, Redeemer, &c, Eccles. xii. 1; Ps. xxiii. 1; Isa. 
xliii. 11; Ps. xix. 14; 3, for his attributes or perfec- 
tions, Ex. xxxiii. 19; xxxiv. 6, 7; 1 Tim. vi. 1; 4, for 
his word, Ps. cxxxviii. 2; Acts ix. 15; 5, for his 
grace and mercy shown to sinners through Christ, 



238 



THE THIRD COMMANDMENT. 



John xvii. 6, 26; 6, for his help and assistance, 
1 Sam. xvii. 45 ; Ps. xliv. 6 ; 7, for his honour, Ps. 
lxxvi. 1, and in many places ; 8, for the display of his 
perfections in the works of creation, Ps. viii. 1, 9 ; 
9, for the illustration of his attributes in providence, 
Ps. xx. 1, 7 ; 10, for his worship and service, 1 Kings 
v. 5; Ex. xx. 24 ; 11, for God himself, Ps. xxxiv. 3; 
lxi. 5 ; Prov. xviii. 10. The name of the Lord there- 
fore is either Jehovah himself, or any thing whereby 
he is known. Hopkins : " It is not an unusual figure to 
put the name for the thing or person that is expressed 
by it." Any thing relating to the true God, his 
being, his nature, his will, his works, his worship, 
any thing relating to the service rendered him, or to 
the doctrine concerning him, pertains to his name. 

The phrase the Lord thy Grod has been explained 
in the preface to the ten commandments. 

The word rendered in vain is a noun. It occurs 
nearly fifty times in the Hebrew Bible. The Lexi- 
cons define it, evil, iniquity, wickedness, falsehood, 
emptiness, vanity, nothingness. Twice in this com- 
mandment it is rendered in vain; twice also in Deut. 
v. 11, and once in Ps. cxxvii. 1, and cxxxix. 20. Its 
most comprehensive meaning is vanity. It is often 
so rendered, Job vii. 3, xv. 31, xxxi. 5, xxxv. 13; 
Ps. xii. 2, xli. 6; Isa. v. 18, xxx. 28. It is fre- 
quently rendered vain, and several times false or 
lying; Ex. xxiii. 1; Deut. v. 20; Ps. xxxi. 6; Jonah 
ii. 8. Some render the prohibition of this command- 
ment thus : Thou shalt not utter the name of Jehovah 
unto a falsehood. The original fully bears this trans- 
lation. Perhaps it is better than that of the common 
version. As in other commandments, God may here 



THE THIRD COMMANDMENT. 



239 



design to condemn the most atrocious form of a given 
species of sin. But if we follow the common render- 
ing, which is good, we at once -give to the command- 
ment a wider scope. If we may not use God's name 
in a light and frivolous manner, surely we may not 
use it in vindication of our wicked falsehoods. A 
great design of true religion is to bring men to 
habitual and controlling reverence for the divine 
majesty. "Neither shall ye profane my holy name; 
but I will be hallowed among the children of Israel: 
I am the Lord which hallow you." Levit. xxii. 32. 
"If thou wilt not observe to do all the words of this 
law that are written in this book, that thou mayest 
fear this glorious and fearful name, THE LORD THY 
GOD ; then the Lord will make thy plagues wonder- 
ful." Deut. xxviii. 58, 59. "God is greatly to be 
feared in the assembly of the saints, and to be had in 
reverence of all them that are about him." Ps. lxxxix. 
7. "Holy and reverend is his name." Ps. cxi. 9. 
When our Lord gave us an outline of ordinary prayer, 
the first petition was, "Hallowed be thy name." In- 
deed all religious service, which does not hallow the 
name of God, or which is without godly fear, is 
miserable trifling. The inhabitants of heaven are 
much purer and more elevated than we. Yet when 
they sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and 
the song of the Lamb, they say, "Great and marvel- 
lous are thy works, Lord God Almighty ; just and 
true are thy ways, thou King of saints. Who shall 
not fear thee, 0 Lord, and glorify thy name? for 
thou only art holy." Rev. xv. 3, 4. 

To take God's name in vain, therefore, is to use it 
in any frivolous, false, inconsiderate, irreverent, or 



240 



THE THIRD COMMANDMENT. 



otherwise wicked manner. Hare: "This may be 
done in two ways ; either by calling God to witness a 
lie, — for lies and falsehoods of all kinds are in many 
places of Scripture called vanity; or else it may be 
done by using that holy Name on small and irreverent 
occasions ; for light and empty things are also called 
vanity." 

The scope of this commandment is to secure the 
holy and reverent use of all that whereby God makes 
himself known to his people; and so to guard his 
sacred name against all that is calculated to make it 
contemptible. 

These things enter into the very essence of obedi- 
ence to the requirements of this precept. 

1. That we propose the glory of God, the good of 
our fellow-men, or the defence of ourselves, in all 
cases when we take the name of God upon our lips. 
Josh. vii. 19; Heb. vi. 16; Ex. xxii. 11. 

2. Of course the manner of so taking his name is 
to be grave, solemn, intelligent, aforethought, and 
with godly fear. 

3. We should not use the name of God, where 
there is no fitness or necessity; even in prayer it 
should not be employed to fill up our vacancies of 
thought. Nor should we use it in swearing, or in 
casting lots, where the matter can be otherwise 
properly adjusted. 

4. We are not at liberty to use God's name in any 
way to promote superstition, false doctrine, perjury, 
blasphemy, profanity, cursing, or any such thiDg. 
We must therefore see to it, that what we propose to 
promote by the use of God's name is something which 
he approves. 



THE THIRD COMMANDMENT. 



241 



Just reflection must satisfy any good man that the 
non-observance of this commandment would utterly 
subvert all true religion. The very moment mankind 
cease to believe that God is holy, that moment their 
worship becomes polluted. When God's creatures 
come into his presence with thoughtless familiarity, 
forgetting that he is in heaven, and they upon earth, 
they will surely lightly esteem the Rock of their sal- 
vation. The world furnishes no case of a despiser of 
the third commandment, who is not guilty of gross 
breaches of one or more of the other precepts of the 
moral law. There is not a country having written 
statutes but has ordained heavy penalties against one 
or more of the sins clearly condemned in this com= 
mandment. 

In answer to the question, what is required in the third 
commandment, the Westminster Assembly answers, 
" The third commandment requires, that the name of 
God, his titles, attributes, ordinances, the word, sacra- 
ments, prayer, oaths, vows, lots, his works, and what- 
soever else there is whereby he makes himself known, be 
holily and reverently used in thought, meditation, 
word, and writing ; by an holy profession, and answer- 
able conversation, to the glory of God, and the good 
of ourselves and others." Further note. 

That this commandment extends to the state of 
men's hearts, is clear, from the fact that God com- 
mends those who rightly think upon his name and 
meditate on his works. Mai. iii. 16; Ps. viii. 1-9. 
That it includes our speech, is clear from Ps. cv. 2, 5 ; 
Mai. iii. 16; Col. iii. 17. That we are as much 
bound to honour God by our pen as by our tongue, is 
evident from the nature of the case, and from Ps. cii. 
21 



I 



242 



THE THIRD COMMANDMENT. 



18. This precept binds us to a holy profession of 
the true religion. We are required to be always 
ready to give an answer to every man that asketh us 
a reason of the hope that is in us, with meekness and 
fear. 1 Pet. iii. 15. All men are bound to adopt the 
good resolution of the church in the days of Micah: 
"We will walk in the name of the Lord our God for 
ever and ever." Micah iv. 5. Nor should this pro- 
fession be light or inconsistent. Our whole deport- 
ment must be as it becometh the gospel of Christ. 
Phil. i. 27 ; Rom. x. 10 ; 1 Pet. ii. 12; Luke i. 6; 
Rev. xiv. 1. 

It is not necessary here to repeat remarks previously 
made on the right use of God's word, the sacraments, 
prayer, praise, fasting, and the government and disci- 
pline of the church, as those subjects came up in con- 
sidering the first and second commandments. But as 
those matters belong also to the requirements of this 
precept, let them be regarded with new and increased 
solemnity ; and let all the principles here elucidated, 
be applied to them. 

The general spirit of this command requires us to 
keep at the greatest possible distance from mingling 
in our doctrines, affections, or thoughts, the name of 
the true God with any corruption whatever. The 
Lord forbade the Israelites to make any mention of 
the name of other gods or to let it be heard out of 
their mouth. Ex. xxiii. 13. The meaning of the pro- 
hibition evidently was, that they should keep their 
minds as pure as possible from the contamination of 
familiarity with heathenism. For the same reason, 
no doubt, God required the Israelites utterly to de- 
stroy all the places where the heathen had served 



THE THIRD COMMANDMENT. 



243 



their gods, upon the high mountains, and upon the 
hills, and under every green tree ; and to overthrow 
their altars and break their pillars and burn their 
groves with fire, and hew down the graven images of 
their gods, and destroy the names of them, Deut. xii. 
2, 3. In the days of Joshua, Israel was again for- 
bidden to make mention of the name of these false 
gods, Josh, xxiii. 7. And when God promises a re- 
vived and healthful state of religion to his church, he 
says, " I will take away the names of Baalim out of 
her mouth, and they shall no more be remembered by 
their name." Hos. ii. 17. And still more explicitly, 
God says by the mouth of Paul, "It is a shame even 
to speak of those things which are done of them m 
secret." Eph. v. 12. 

The reverent use of God's name requires all the 
attributes of acceptable worship, as stated at length in 
the foregoing pages ; that is, we must have faith and 
love, and fear and godly sincerity, and singleness of 
heart, &c., &c. 

It is clearly implied in this commandment that we 
do not keep it by observing a profound silence respect- 
ing the Almighty. Though we are not to take the 
name of God in vain, we are still to take it. More 
than once in Scripture, are pious men described as 
those who make mention of the Lord. Isa. xxvi. 13, 
xlviii. 1, lxii. 6. There may be sinful silence respect- 
ing God as well as a profane use of his name. 

Besides acts of worship already discussed, it is pro- 
per here to call special attention to some things imme- 
diately suggested by this commandment. 



244 



THE THIRD COMMANDMENT. 



I. SOLEMN OATHS. 

Swearing is an appeal to God as a witness to the 
truth of what we say. It is always accompanied with 
an expressed or implied imprecation of his curse, or 
renunciation of his favour, if we perform not our 
oath. It is therefore a very solemn act of worship. 
The form of the oath is different in different ages and 
countries. All forms are an appeal to God. Some 
are more decent or appropriate than others ; but our 
laws properly leave every one to select that which in 
his own judgment is most becoming. The binding 
obligation of an oath is in no wise diminished by the 
form of its administration. Abraham's servant swore 
to his master by putting his own hand under his mas- 
ter's thigh. Gen. xxiv. 2. Another form mentioned 
in Scripture is that of lifting up the hand towards 
heaven. Rev. x. 5. But the word of God binds us 
to no particular form. Whatever be the mode of ad- 
ministration, let us not forget that the essence of an 
oath consists in a solemn appeal to God as the Searcher 
of hearts and the Judge of quick and dead. It 
either expresses or implies a declaration that we are 
willing God should subject us to his dreadful curse, if 
we swear falsely. The proper use of an oath is the 
termination of strife concerning matters which can- 
not otherwise be adjusted. Heb. vi. 16. Oaths are 
authorized by the example of God, who swears by 
himself as he can swear by none greater. Gen. xxii. 
16. Isa. xlv. 23. Jer. xlix. 13. Amos vi. 8. Oaths 
are sinful when they are not necessary or called for 
by proper authority. It deserves the consideration 
of all, who have the control of the administration of 



THE THIRD COMMANDMENT. 



245 



public justice, whether the great number and fre- 
quency of oaths do not seriously impair their sanctity 
in the public mind, and thus wound justice, morals 
and religion. The lax observance of oaths is a very 
painful subject. Still, the slight regard paid to them 
argues nothing against their lawfulness. Every well- 
instructed Christian ought to be willing to worship 
God in this as well as in other appointed ways. Our 
Saviour himself allowed an oath to be administered 
to him by the High Priest. Matt. xxvi. 63, 64. Paul 
uses forms of expression which have the nature of an 
oath : " I call God for a record upon my soul," 2 Cor. 
i. 23; "God is my record," Phil. i. 8 ; "I say the 
truth in Christ, I lie not," Rom. ix. 1. We have at 
least one example of a holy angel swearing: "The 
angel which I saw stand upon the sea and upon the 
earth, lifted up his hand to heaven, and swore by him 
that liveth for ever and ever, who created heaven, and 
the things that therein are, and the earth," &c. Rev. 
x. 5, 6. It is promised in the Old Testament that in 
the latter days this mode of worshipping God shall 
prevail. "To me every tongue shall swear," says 
God. Isa. xlv. 23. " He that swear eth shall swear by 
the God of truth." Isa. lxv. 16. " Thou shalt swear, 
The Lord liveth in truth." Jer. iv. 2. Those Scrip- 
tures therefore which forbid swearing evidently refer 
to passionate, unnecessary, common or profane swear- 
ing. 

Swearing is either lawful or unlawful. Unlawful 
swearing will be considered hereafter. Lawful swear- 
ing is always a solemn act. It is an acknowledgment 
of the omniscience, truth, and justice of the Most 
High. Commonly it is required by the laws of th& 
21 * 



246 



THE THIRD COMMANDMENT. 



land. Yet there may be cases where one may receive 
from another the confirmation of a promise by an 
oath. 

This subject is much spoken of in the Scriptures. 
The general law respecting swearing is that it be done 
by an appeal to the true God, and in truth, in judg- 
ment, and in righteousness. Jer. iv. 2. To appeal to 
any but the true God is an insult to the Heavenly 
Majesty. If the act is performed with any devout- 
ness of feeling, it is idolatry ; if with levity of mind, it 
is profaneness. God's word carefully enjoins that our 
appeal should be to Jehovah. Isa. lxv. 16 ; Jer. xii. 
16 ; Zeph. i. 5. Then we must swear in truth. The 
ordinary form of a public oath requires "the 
truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth." 
We may not ask God to witness to a lie, or to a thing 
that we do not know to be true. The lips and the 
conscience must agree. Let all reservations and 
equivocations be put far from us. Ps. xv. 2, 4. We 
must also swear in judgment ; that is, we must under- 
stand the nature of an oath ; we must have God's fear 
before us when we swear ; and we must know that 
concerning which we testify. According to Scripture, 
every good man feareth an oath. Eccles. ix. 2. Then 
we must swear in righteousness. The cause in which 
we testify must be so far just. We may not give 
evidence to establish iniquity. In swearing we are 
not at liberty to show partiality to friends, or enmity 
to foes ; but are to speak what truth requires. 

No doubt it greatly tends to the honour of God and 
to the execution of public justice, when the officers of 
the law administer oaths with due solemnity. We 
ought to be careful that the matter of every oath is 



THE THIRD COMMANDMENT. 



247 



something possible. Abraham's servant showed a 
proper conscientiousness on this subject. Gen. xxiv. 
5. Of course the matter of every oath must be some- 
thing lawful. A man can never lawfully or firmly 
bind himself to do an act of iniquity. 

II. vows. 

Vows belong to every dispensation of true religion. 
Gen. xxviii. 20 ; Isa. xix. 21 ; Acts xviii. 18. The 
word vow is used in three senses in our language. 
Sometimes, it is equivalent to worship or devotion, 
or a public profession of religion. Isa. xliv. 5 ; Jer. 1. 
4, 5. Again, it signifies a promise to serve God in a 
way to which his word obliges us, even before we 
make the promise. But in the strict sense, a vow is 
a solemn promise made to God, that we will do some- 
thing which we were not bound to do till we made the 
voluntary engagement. Like promises or oaths, vows 
are either lawful or unlawful according to circum- 
stances. A vow to do a wicked thing is of course 
wicked. We ought to repent of it and of our sin in 
making it. God is more honoured in its breach than 
in its observance. It is a great mercy when God 
hinders men from fulfilling such vows. This, how- 
ever, does not diminish the wickedness of making 
them. A man made a vow that he would never 
comb his hair till he could wreak his vengeance on an 
adversary. He never had the opportunity of gratify- 
ing his malice, and he never combed his head. But 
such promises are not properly vows. They are 
rather curses. Acts xxiii. 12. 

Vows are commonly distinguished into conditional 
and unconditional. Unconditional vows are solemn 



248 



THE THIRD COMMANDMENT. 



resolutions that we will do or abstain from doing 
certain things ; as that we will practise certain acts 
of self-denial, or forego certain lawful indulgences, in 
order thereby to give to our character more firmness, 
or the more effectually to keep ourselves from habits 
of effeminacy. Conditional vows are such as accord- 
ing to their original form are not binding unless God 
shall perform or cause to be performed some condi- 
tion annexed. One says to God, " If thou wilt do 
this or that, I will do thus and so." Thus "Jacob 
vowed a vow, saying, If God will be with me, and will 
keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread 
to eat, and raiment to put on, so that I come again 
to my father's house in peace; then shall the Lord be 
my God, and this stone which I have set for a pillar 
shall be God's house : and of all that thou shalt give 
me, I will surely give the tenth unto thee." Gen. 
xxviii. 20-22. God performed the condition, which 
the patriarch annexed, and Jacob kept his vow: — a 
pleasing instance of paternal love on the part of God ; 
and consistent, steadfast piety on the part of his ser- 
vant. From their very nature, conditional vows are 
voluntary. They are not required of us by any posi- 
tive precept of God's word, but, like many things 
else, are left to the conscience, discretion, thankful- 
ness, zeal, and general piety of each individual. They 
have a reference to the receipt of future good, in 
view of which one chooses to bring himself under the 
sanctions of a solemn promise to prove his gratitude, 
if the favour shall be granted. When we vow before 
a good is received, we express our judgment of its 
value, and the obligations under which the receipt of 
it will bring us. This helps us to resist the base in- 



THE THIRD COMMANDMENT. 



249 



gratitude to which we are so prone after mercies have 
been received. All vows should be kept most con- 
scientiously. " When thou shalt vow a vow unto the 
Lord thy God, thou shalt not slack to pay it: for the 
Lord thy God will surely require it of thee : and it 
would be sin in thee." Deut. xxiii. 21. "When thou 
vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it ; for he 
hath no pleasure in fools : pay that which thou hast 
vowed. Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than 
that thou shouldest vow and not pay. Suffer not thy 
mouth to cause thy flesh to sin ; neither say thou be- 
fore the angel, that it was an error : wherefore should 
God be angry at thy voice, and destroy the work of 
thy hands." Eccles. v. 4-6. "It is a snare to a man 
after vows to make inquiry." Prov. xx. 25. Yows 
may be rash, and the fulfilment of them may cost us 
a great deal; but if they are not wicked we ought to 
keep them, however hard they may bear upon our 
pride, or sloth, or covetousness. 

III. THE LOT. 

The lot is an appeal to God, to determine a matter 
which the parties themselves are unable to adjust. 
It is a confession of the universal providence and par- 
ticular government of God. " The lot is cast into the 
lap; but the whole disposing thereof is of the Lord." 
Prov. xvi. 33. A recognition of this important truth 
is essential to the lawfulness of the lot in any case. 
This acknowledgment should be made in a religious 
and becoming manner; and the lot must be employed 
only in some grave and important matter, concerning 
which God's will cannot otherwise be known, or a 
satisfactory decision cannot otherwise be had. The 



25a 



THE THIRD COMMANDMENT. 



general decision of the lot is very much the same as 
that of the oath, viz. : the adjustment of difficulties, 
and the settlement of disputes. 

Thus Solomon says : "The lot causeth contentions 
to cease, and parteth between the mighty." Prov. 
xviii. 18. Lots are never to be used for divination. 
We have examples of the use of the lot both in the 
Old and New Testaments. The whole land of Canaan 
was thus divided as an inheritance among the de- 
scendants of Jacob. Num. xxvi. 55, and xxxiii. 54. 
The apostles thus chose a successor to Judas, who fell 
from his office by transgression. Acts i. 26. The 
lot seems to be taught by the light of nature. Jonah 
i. 7. 

The abuses to which the lot is liable are very great. 
Vast schemes of lotteries under various pretexts have 
been introduced into society, and have greatly cor- 
rupted the morals of the people. Hardly a more ap- 
palling history could be written than that of persons 
who have become devoted to endeavours at accumula- 
tion in this form. When they have been successful, 
in many cases, reason has tottered and fallen from 
her throne ; or sudden wealth has begotten extrava- 
gance and dissipation. But in a larger number of 
cases, the want of success has driven to crime and 
then to despair those who have risked much or all in 
this hazardous scheme. 

Gambling by means of lotteries dates as far back 
as an early period of Roman history. The Republic 
of Genoa, among the moderns, first resorted to the 
lottery. It was employed as a state measure for 
supplying the treasury. Thence it was brought into 
other countries, especially France and England. The 



THE THIRD COMMANDMENT. 



251 



first public lottery known in English history dates as 
far back as 1567. The institution was soon felt to he 
injurious and mischievous. Parliament undertook to 
control it. Through the influence of the mother coun- 
try, lotteries were introduced into the colonies of North 
America. After the establishment of the independence 
of the United States, the system grew by degrees, till 
it threatened the most alarming consequences. All 
classes of citizens finally became roused by the exten- 
sive ruin wrought by the system. It perpetuated po- 
verty among the humbler classes ; it produced much in- 
solvency, many frauds, embezzlements, larcenies and 
robberies. Its effects on those who drew large prizes 
were hardly less injurious than on those who drew 
nothing. It led both classes to intemperance and 
suicide. In one of the large cities of the North, some 
years since, the feelings of the community were most 
painfully and indignantly excited by the case of Mr. 
A. He had been for ten years the " chief clerk in 
one of the first importing houses in the city ; and to 
the hour of his death he enjoyed the unbounded con- 
fidence of his employers. 

" His character for integrity and purity was un- 
sullied. Modest and amiable in his manners, tempe- 
rate and domestic in his habits, he was endeared to 
all who knew him as one without a vice. 

"When the distressing tidings were first spread 
abroad, that he had been found dead, not the most 
distant suspicion was entertained that he had ended — 
that he could have ended his quiet existence by his 
own act. The rumour which momentarily prevailed, 
that he had been robbed and murdered, was received, 
it is true, with horror, but with implicit confidence ; 



252 



THE THIRD COMMANDMENT. 



nor was it until the fatal evidence of his rashness was 
found in his own hurried hand-writing, that they who 
had known, and loved, and trusted him so long, were 
made to feel that he had cruelly deceived them ; and 
that in the distraction of remorse he had attempted to 
atone for one crime by committing another — the dark- 
est crime of all. ... In the short space between seven 
and eight months, he embezzled the sum of $18,000, 
every cent of which was lost on lottery tickets." 

This unfortunate man became so tortured in mind 
that he resolved on self-destruction. In his desk, 
after his death, a paper was found, probably written 
very shortly before the fearful deed which ushered 
him into the presence of his Judge. " It is a simple 
picture of human woe. In its untutored language, 
we see to what a depth of wretchedness, one false 
step reduced a man upon whose whole life before, not 
a blot had rested." 

{Copy.) 

" I have for the last seven months gone fast down 
the broad road to destruction. 

" There was a time, and that too but a few months 
since, that I was happy, because I was free from 
debt and care. 

" The time I note my downfall, or deviation from 
the path of rectitude, was about the middle of June 
last, when I took a share in a company of lottery 
tickets, whereby I was successful in obtaining a share 
of one half the capital prize ; since which I have gone 
for myself, and that too, not on a very small scale, as 
you can judge from the amount now due J. R. & Co., 
every dollar of which has been spent in that way. 



THE THIRD COMMANDMENT. 



253 



"I have lived or dragged out a miserable exist- 
ence for two or three months past. Sleepless nights 
and a guilty conscience have led me on to the fatal 
act. 

" Only the hope of making Messrs. J. R. & Co. 
good for the defalcation has postponed it till the 
present time ; a smaller amount, I did hope, would be 
the result, for the worse luck I had the more I 
bought. 

" Since I have reflected on my rashness, I can- 
not look back, and see how it is possible I could have 
conducted in this way. When the situation I occu- 
pied, and the confidence reposed in me, and the long 
time I have been engaged, and the reward for my 

poor services by , that all should be lost in one 

moment — but the loss is too much for me to bear. 

" Oh ! that seven or eight months past of my exist- 
ence could be blotted out — but no, I must go — and 
ere this paper is read my spirit is gone to my Maker, 
to give an account of my misdeeds here, and receive 
the dreadful sentence for self-destruction and abuse 
of confidence. 

" Relatives and friends I have, from whom I do 
not wish to part under such circumstances, but neces- 
sity 

" Oh, wretch ! Lotteries have been my ruin. I 
cannot add more." 

Let all who have influence in controlling public 
affairs, either on a large or small scale, see to it that 
so corrupting an institution gain no footing in the 
community. 

Those amusements called games of chance, if they 
are indeed such, are liable to the same objection. If 
22 



254 



THE THIRD COMMANDMENT. 



there is any thing put at stake, God has already in 
the regular way of his providence made known his 
will concerning the property that is thus staked. 
Rev. Eliphalet Nott, D. D., President of Union Col- 
lege, has testified to the world that even a young 
gambler has been so hardened as to play at cards on 
the coffin of his dead brother. And the Gospels tell 
us that the Roman soldiers went to gambling at the 
foot of the cross of the Redeemer. 

IV. DOXOLOGIES. 

It is not without cause that some have expressed 
surprise that doxologies were so little used in social 
and public worship, in the pulpit and in the choir. 
True, we often have them sung at the close of public 
worship, but they ought to be said as well as sung. 
In printed works, and in familiar letters, they ought 
to occur more frequently. So the Bible would teach. 
In the Old Testament doxologies abound. A literary 
friend lately collected a list of doxologies from the 
Old Testament. Those who saw it were constrained 
to admit that too little attention was paid to this 
branch of worship. 

It seems to be forgotten by some that we have a 
rich variety of doxologies in the New Testament also. 
So that they belong no less to Christian than to Jew- 
ish worship. 

The outburst of holy joy in the mother of our Lord 
was of the nature of a doxology. That of Zacharias 
was so in form ; Luke i. 46-55, and 68-79. So also 
Simeon's song over the infant Jesus was a doxology ; 
Luke ii. 28-32. In like manner, " praising and bless- 
ing God" was a good part of the work of the disci- 



THE THIRD COMMANDMENT. 



255 



pies between Christ's resurrection and the day of 
Pentecost. So in the triumphant entry of Christ 
into Jerusalem, the people uttered the loud shout, 
" Hosanna ! Blessed is the King of Israel, that 
cometh in the name of the Lord." 

But it is in the Epistles and in Revelation that we 
have the fullest and most formal doxologies. Thus, 
in Romans xvi. 25-27, we find the following, than 
which we could hardly conceive any thing more fit to 
bring in at the close of a missionary sermon, or a dis- 
course on the excellence of the gospel: "Now to him 
that is of power to establish you according to my gos- 
pel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to 
the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret 
since the world began, but now is made manifest, and 
by the Scriptures of the prophets, according to the 
commandment of the everlasting God, made known to 
all nations for the obedience of faith : to God only 
wise, be glory through Jesus Christ for ever. Amen." 
As no one now living can fitly say u my gospel" a 
change may there be made, and we may say " the 
blessed gospel," or " the glorious gospel." 

Another very precious doxology is found in Ephe- 
sians i. 3-6, " Blessed be the God and Father of our 
Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all 
spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ : ac- 
cording as he hath chosen us in him before the foun- 
iation of the world, that we should be holy and with- 
out blame before him in love ; having predestinated us 
unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to him- 
self, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the 
nraise of the glory of his grace." Observe — 1. This 
doxology was written by Paul, a prisoner. No chains, 



256 



THE THIRD COMMANDMENT. 



or bars, or stripes, could repress his adoring praises. 
2. We may have all "spiritual blessings," when we 
have few or no temporal blessings. 3. When the 
scriptural doctrine of election and predestination 
offends people, it is either because they misunder- 
stand it, or because their hearts are not right. It 
filled Paul with praise, and it is honourable to God. 
It is conducive to holiness. 

The same Epistle to the Ephesians (iii. 20, 21) con- 
tains another precious doxology : " Now unto him 
that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that 
we ask or think, according to the power that worketh 
in us, unto him be glory in the church by Jesus Christ, 
throughout all ages, world without end. Amen." On 
this notice — 1. That God's ability fairly implies his 
willingness. 2. That no difficulties to us are hinder- 
ances to God. 3. That no words, no thoughts of ours, 
ever rise to the dignity of the blessedness reserved 
for saints. 4. That the- whole plan of salvation 
shall eternally and more and more redound to God's 
honour. 

The doxology in 1 Tim. i. 17, is very sublime : 
"Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the 
only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. 
Amen." I marvel not that the chanting of this in 
some of our churches produces so marked an effect on 
the audience. In each of his Epistles the apostle of 
the Circumcision has a short doxology : " To him [the 
God of all grace] be glory and dominion for ever and 
ever. Amen." 1 Pet. v. 11. " To him [our Lord and 
Saviour Jesus Christ] be glory both now and for ever. 
Amen." 2 Pet. iii. 18. 

The doxology in Jude 24, 25, is very full and very 



THE THIRD COMMANDMENT. 



257 



consolatory : " Now unto him that is able to keep you 
from falling, and to present you faultless before the 
presence of his glory with exceeding joy, to the only 
wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion 
and power, both now and ever. Amen." Could 
brighter or more glorious prospects be presented ? 
Could glory to God be more fitly sung than in view 
of such prospects ? 

But the Apocalypse excels all the books of the New 
Testament in the ardour, variety and copiousness of 
its doxologies. See Rev. i. 5, 6, iv. 11, v. 12, 13, 
and vii. 12. " Unto him that loved us, and washed 
us from our sins in his own blood, and hath made us 
kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be 
glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen." " Thou 
art worthy, 0 Lord, to receive glory and honour and 
power : for thou hast created all things, and for thy 
pleasure they are and were created." " Worthy is 
the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, 
and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, 
and blessing." " Blessing, and honour, and glory, 
and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, 
and unto the Lamb for ever and ever." "Amen: 
Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, 
and honour, and power, and might, be unto our God 
for ever and ever. Amen." These doxologies clearly 
show — 1. That the worship of heaven is, in substance, 
the same as the worship of earth ; and 2. That the 
honours paid to the Father in heaven and on earth 
are properly paid to the Son. So that if men have 
no heart to love and praise the Son, they do not love 
the Father ; and if they have no heart for spiritual wor- 
ship here, neither would they have if taken to heaven. 

22 * 



258 THE THIRD COMMANDMENT. 

Other forms of doxology are found in the New 
Testament. Let them be sought out, and studied. 
If we shall be saved, doxology will be our work eter- 
nally. Will not the ministers of Christ more abound 
in doxology, at least in the conclusion of public wor- 
ship ? 

V. BENEDICTIONS. 

Another act of worship is blessing the people. A 
benediction is the ministerial and authoritative pro- 
nunciation of a blessing upon the people in the name 
of the Lord, and is therefore not merely or chiefly 
the expression of the private wishes of the minister. 

The ordinary blessing of the Jewish dispensation, 
used by the priests to each worshipper, who had 
brought his offering, and to the congregation of Israel 
was : " The Lord bless thee, and keep thee : The 
Lord make his face to shine upon thee: The Lord 
lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee 
peace." This form is very full and very precious. 
The original of the word Lord is Jehovah — a name 
applied to the Father, Son and Holy Ghost. From 
its being repeated thrice, as the word Holy is in Isaiah 
vi. 3, some have thought there was an allusion to the 
doctrine of the Trinity. Perhaps there may be. The 
Father, Son and Holy Spirit are the one, self-exist- 
ent, independent, eternal and unchangeable Jehovah 
revealed in Scripture. This form is used as a saluta- 
tory in opening the worship of some of our churches. 

The forms of benediction in the New Testament 
are numerous, various and very precious. Of the 
twenty-one epistles, five do not close with a benedic- 
tion. These are the epistle of James, of 2d Peter, 
the 1st and 2d epistles of John and the epistle of Jude. 



THE THIRD COMMANDMENT. 



259 



James nowhere has any form of blessing. In the 
opening of his second epistle, Peter has this form : 
" Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the 
knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord." So, near 
the beginning of his second epistle, John says : " Grace 
be with you, mercy and peace from God the Father, 
and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, 
in truth and love. ' ' So also Jude, at the beginning, says : 
" Mercy unto you, and peace and love be multiplied." 
So that there are but two epistles in the Bible entirely 
without some form of benediction. These are James 
and 1st John. The shortest benediction in the Bible 
is that of 3d John: " Peace be with thee." In Colos- 
sians we have : " Grace be with you. Amen." In 
Titus we have : " Grace be with you all. Amen." In 
Peter we have : " Peace be with you all that are in 
Christ Jesus. Amen." In 1st Timothy we have: 
" The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with thee. 
Amen." In Philemon we read : "The grace of our 
Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen." In 
2d Timothy it is : " The Lord Jesus Christ be with 
thy spirit. Grace be with you. Amen." In Romans, 
Philippians, and 2d Thessalonians, it is : " The grace 
of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen." In 
1st Corinthians it is : " The grace of our Lord Jesus 
Christ be with you." In 1st Thessalonians it is the 
same, with the addition of the amen. In Galatians 
the apostle says, " Brethren, the grace of our Lord 
Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen." In Ephesians 
he says : " Grace be with all them that love our Lord 
Jesus Christ in sincerity. Amen." In Hebrews we 
have two forms of blessing in the last chapter. The 
last is the same as that in Titus. The other is ex- 



260 



THE THIRD COMMANDMENT. 



eeedingly rich, and might be appropriately used with 
much greater frequency than it is : " Now the God of 
peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord 
Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the 
blood of the everlasting covenant, make you perfect 
in every good work to do his will, working in you that 
which is well pleasing in his sight, through Jesus 
Christ ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen." 
In 2d Corinthians we have what has often been called 
by way of pre-eminence, the apostolic benediction, 
though it is no more entitled to that designation than 
others. Yet it is rich and full : " The grace of our 
Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the com- 
munion of the Holy Ghost be with you all. Amen.'' 
But the fullest form of benediction is that given by 
John in Rev. i. 4, 5. " Grace be unto you, and 
peace, from him which is, and which was, and which 
is to come ; and from the seven Spirits which are be- 
fore his throne, and from Jesus Christ, who is the 
faithful Witness, and the First begotten from the dead, 
and the prince of the kings of the earth." 

Besides these seventeen forms of blessing, we have 
in the beginning of ten of Paul's epistles this form of 
blessing : " Grace to you and peace from God our 
Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ;" and in each of 
his three pastoral epistles this form : " Grace, mercy 
and peace from God our Father and Jesus Christ our 
Lord." 

Thus we have nineteen forms of benediction given 
us in the New Testament. Ought they not all to be 
used ? Why should ministers confine themselves to 
one, that in 2 Corinthians, xiii. 14 ? It is precious 
indeed, but no more so than several others. Some of 



THE THIRD COMMANDMENT. 



261 



the others have also peculiar appropriateness to special 
occasions. The last thing said in the Bible is a bene- 
diction. "The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be 
with you all. Amen." 

The Hebrew form of blessing was : " Mercy to 
you;" the Greek, " Grace to you;" and the Roman, 
" Peace to you." Paul uses them all, and tells us 
whence they come, even " from God the Father* and 
from our Lord Jesus Christ." 

Interpreters are in doubt whether the phrase, 
" through the blood of the everlasting covenant," in 
Heb. xiii. 20, qualifies one of the preceding clauses 
or that next succeeding, or whether it has special 
reference to the word great, meaning that the Shep- 
herd of the sheep is great through the blood of the 
everlasting covenant. Why may it not refer to all these ? 

By " the seven spirits" in Rev. i. 4, is meant the 
Holy Spirit, seven being the number of perfection, 
and the Holy Ghost being the absolute perfection of 
spiritual existence. 

Generally the benedictions are plain. Let them 
all be studied and used at appropriate times. A part 
of God's worship in every dispensation has been bless- 
ing the people in his name. 

VI. CARE AND THE FEAR OF GOD IN THE USE OF 
SPEEECH, AND IN MAKING IMPRESSIONS ON OUR 
FELLOW MEN. 

He who has so little reverence for the Most High 
as carelessly to utter whatever comes into his mind, 
whether it be true or false, will not be long in becom- 
ing a gross violater of this commandment. The sub- 
ject is now merely hinted at. So also whatever use 



262 



THE THIRD COMMANDMENT. 



is made of God's name should be sincere. We should 
never employ it to deceive our fellow-men, to make 
an impression that we are pious and so trustworthy, 
and thus lead men to confide in us. 

This commandment clearly forbids the following 
sins. 

I. BLASPHEMY. 

In Scripture language, to blaspheme is to reproach 
or revile either God or man. 1 Kings xxi. 10. But 
for a long time, blasphemy in the English language 
designates an offence against God. Dr. George 
Campbell says, " Blasphemy invariably implies an 
expression of contempt or detestation, and a desire of 
producing the same passions in others." Linwood 
says, "Blasphemy is an injury offered to God, 
by denying that which is due and belonging to him, 
or attributing to him what is not agreeable to his 
nature." Blackstone defines it as a crime " against 
the Almighty, by denying his being or providence ; 
or by contumelious reproaches of our Saviour Christ. 
Whither also may be referred all profane scofling at 
the holy Scripture, or exposing it to contempt and 
ridicule." In the Apocalypse, John describes the 
great beast as " having a mouth, speaking great things 
and blasphemies." " And he opened his mouth in 
-blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his 
tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven. ' ' Rev. xiii. 6. 
According to modern usage, intelligence, scorn and 
malignity against God are essential to the commission 
of this crime. In some of the states of North America, 
legal blasphemy is punishable at common law. See the 
8th vol. of Johnson's Reports, the case of The People 
vs. Ruggles. In the Jewish commonwealth it was 



THE THIRD COMMANDMENT. 



263 



punishable with death. Lev. xxiv. 16. Of the offence 
as against municipal law, nothing is here said. But 
of it as a breach of the third commandment, a few 
things are offered. Boston says, " Blasphemy is a 
wronging of the majesty of God by speeches tending 
to his reproach." Durham says, " There are three 
sorts of blasphemy. 1. When anything unbecoming 
God is in word attributed to him ; as that he is unjust, 
unholy, unmerciful, &c, such as that complaint, (Ezek. 
xviii. 25,) The way of the Lord is not equal. 2. 
When what is due to him is denied him ; as when he 
is said not to be Eternal, Omniscient, Almighty, So- 
vereign, &c, as when Pharaoh said, Who is the Lord 
that I should obey his voice ? <frc, Ex. v. 2, or as when 
railing Rabshakeh in his master's name said, Who is 
the Lord that is able to deliver you out of my hand ? 
Isa. xxxvi. 20. 3. When what is due to God is at- 
tributed to a creature, or arrogated by a creature : 
thus the Jews, supposing Christ to be a creature 
charged him with blasphemy, (Luke vii. 49 ; John x. 
33,) because he forgave sins and called himself God." 

In strict propriety of modern parlance, blasphemy 
always includes insolence. But in the Bible use of 
the term, it is much more comprehensive. So that 
we blaspheme, not only when we speak against God 
directly, but when we revile his word, his way, his 
children, his ordinances, or his works. 1 Tim. vi. 
„ 1 ; Titus ii. 5 ; 2 Pet. ii. 2 ; 1 Cor. iv. 13 ; Mark iii. 
29, 30. 

The judgment of the Christian world is that blas- 
phemy is the greatest possible violation of the third 
[ commandment. Durham : " The great breach of this 
command is blasphemy, though perjury be more di- 



264 



THE THIRD COMMANDMENT. 



rect." Boston: " Blasphemy is the most atrocious 
of all sins." It is clearly our duty to express our ab- 
horrence of it. The Jews rent their garments at the 
hearing of blasphemy. Our mode of testifying against 
it must depend upon our circumstances ; but it should 
always be decided. At such a time even silence is 
sinful, much more then is smiling or laughing at it. 
It is truly appalling to reflect how even good men 
sometimes, by an untender walking, excite the blas- 
phemies of their fellow-men. 2 Sam. xii. 14, Rom. ii. 
24. Nor is it possible for some truly converted men 
to forget how in the days of their own unregeneracy 
they led others to commit this crime. Even inferiors 
in station may lead their superiors into this sin, 1 
Tim. vi. L 

A great source of blasphemy is ignorance, 1 Tim. 
i. 13. No doubt it is committed also from want of 
watchfulness over our hearts and lips. The great 
source of blasphemy is the corrupt heart of man, as 
the Saviour himself explicitly taught, Matt. xv. 19. 

The Scriptures speak of blasphemy against the Fa- 
ther, Son and Holy Ghost. Lev. xxiv. 16, Matt. xii. 
31, 32, Mark iii. 28, 29, Luke xii. 10. Of all blas- 
phemies that against the Holy Ghost alone, is unpardon- 
able. It hath never forgiveness, neither in this world 
nor in that which is to come, Mark iii. 29. It is the 
sin unto death, 1 John v. 16. Of course it is a sin 
that is never committed by one of God's chosen peo- 
ple. There is an impression very common among the 
best theologians that it is not often committed. But 
that it has been committed, we have the most alarm- 
ing evidence in the New Testament. Some have said 
that this sin could not be committed in our day. But 



THE THIRD COMMANDMENT. 



265 



why not ? It is a sin against light. And are not 
men much instructed in our time ? Is not the truth 
preached with great clearness and power at least by 
some ? and does not the Holy Ghost bear witness in 
many hearts by strong convictions and clear impres- 
sions of religious truth ? and do not men assail the 
great fundamental truths of religion now as in the 
days of our Saviour ? Does not their opposition as- 
sume the form of deadly malice against the gospel it- 
self ? Have they not both seen and hated both Christ 
and his Father ? J ohn xv. 24. Yea, do they not show 
despite not only to the Saviour, but to the Spirit of 
grace ? Heb. x. 29. It is commonly agreed that if 
Peter had denied his Lord with the malice with which 
Saul of Tarsus persecuted the church, he would have 
committed this sin. Or if Saul of Tarsus, with the 
threatenings and slaughter which he breathed out, 
had enjoyed the light and advantages of Peter in his 
intercourse with Christ, he would have committed this 
sin. 

It is pretty clear that in all cases where there is a 
sincere desire to turn from sin and cleave to God, the 
unpardonable sin has not been committed. But let 
men beware how they embrace damnable heresies ; 
how they deliberately set themselves against God ; 
how by words/ or writing, or painting, or acting, they 
represent any thing sacred in an odious or ridiculous 
light ; or how they stand silently by and connive at 
the blasphemies of others, Jer. xxxvi. 24, 25 ; or 
how they excuse, defend, or plead for, any form of un- 
godliness ; or how in any wise they walk untenderly. 
Especially let them be very guarded against all scorn- 
ful words and acts towards the Most High ; against 
S3 



266 THE THIRD COMMANDMENT. 

all mocking and derision of sacred things ; against all 
jibes and jests at the things of God ; against all 
thoughtless use of God's name, or irreverent speak- 
ing, as using the names of God in mere exclamation, 
or as by-words. All these things lead directly to 
blasphemy against the persons of the Godhead, and 
particularly against the Holy Ghost. 

II. PERJURY. 

Cicero says that an oath is a religious affirmation. 
Of course perjury is an ungodly use of a solemn in- 
stitution, the object of which is the ascertaining of 
the truth. Perhaps the most correct definition of le- 
gal perjury is that it consists in making a false oath, 
when lawfully administered, in some judicial proceed- 
ing, by a person who swears wilfully, absolutely and 
falsely, in a matter material to the issue. Black- 
stone : " The law takes no notice of any perjury, but 
such as is committed in some court of justice, having 
power to administer an oath ; or before some magis- 
trate or proper officer invested with a similar autho- 
rity, in some proceedings relative to a civil suit, or a 
criminal prosecution." But we are interpreting the 
law of God and not the municipal regulations of men. 
In the sight of Heaven, all false swearing is perjury. 
Boston : " Perjury is falsehood confirmed with an 
oath." In God's esteem a man commits perjury, 
when upon oath he affirms as truth that which he 
knows to be false, or that which he does not know to 
be true, 1 Kings xxi. 10 ; or, when one engages upon 
oath to do something which is impossible, or which he • 
is afterwards careless to perform. 

The word perjure is of Latin origin. The word 



THE THIRD COMMANDMENT. 



267 



forswear is of Anglo-Saxon origin. In ordinary lan- 
guage they have the same signification ; though some 
have pretended to refined distinctions between them. 
Hopkins : " Perjury is the chief and most notorious 
abusing of God's name. And indeed what greater 
sin can there be, than to bring God to be a witness to 
our lie ? to make him, who is truth itself, attest that 
which is falsehood or deceit ?" 

" Subornation of perjury is the offence of pro- 
curing another to take such a false oath, as consti- 
tutes perjury in the principal." All nations have 
punished perjury and subornation with severity. By 
ancient English law the punishment was death ; af- 
terwards expatriation or cutting out the tongue ; then 
forfeiture of all property. Although the punishment 
of this crime has been somewhat varied, yet in Eng- 
land and America, the criminal party is for ever dis- 
qualified from bearing testimony, and so is subjected 
to perpetual infamy. The judicial regulation of 
the Jewish commonwealth on this subject was excel- 
lent, Deut. xix. 16-19. For a long time it was, and 
perhaps still is the law of France. It provided that 
perjury in the case of prosecution for capital offences 
was itself a capital crime. And surely he who takes 
a false oath to screen a murderer from death, or to 
punish an innocent man with death, deserves to die. 
This crime is as ancient as perhaps any other. Paul 
mentions perjured persons, 1 Tim. i. 10 ; but long be- 
fore his time God ordained by his prophet Moses se- 
vere laws against swearing falsely, Lev. xix. 12, 
J)eut. xix. 18, 19. Indeed the Scriptures array them- 
selves with great rigour against perjury. "Love no 
false oath," Zech. viii. 17. "I will be a swift wit- 



268 



THE THIRD COMMANDMENT. 



ness against false swearers," Mai. iii. 5. See also 
Zech. v. 4, Hos. x. 4. 

Oaths of office. Perjury may be committed not 
only by deponents in judicial proceedings, but by 
merchants in the custom-house, and by the servants 
of the public, who bind themselves by an oath faithfully 
to perform the duties of their office. Every partial 
judge is a perjured monster. Every magistrate, who 
violates the laws, which he is sworn to execute, is 
guilty of perjury. Every legislator, who has sworn 
to maintain the Constitution under which he is acting, 
and then is led away by selfish or sectional considera- 
tions, is perjured. And the executive officer, who for 
fear or favour, for bribe or reward, fails to do all he 
has sworn to do, is also a perjured wretch. The com- 
monness of these sins does in no degree whatever 
abate their enormity. 

A case of conscience. May we press a man to 
swear when we have good reason to think he will 
swear falsely ? This is a very serious question. In 
one sense indeed, every man shall bear his own bur- 
den. But on the other hand, we are warned not to 
be partakers of other men's sins. The correct answer 
seems to be, that if the matter is of no great weight, 
Christian tenderness on our part should not press him 
to the oath, if we seriously fear that in testifying he 
will commit perjury. This reason derives strength, 
if the matter in contest involves our own private in- 
terests only. In such a case, we may lawfully yield 
our rights. But if the matter at stake is of great im- 
portance to the public, or to private parties, then we 
may require the oath; for it is the appointed instru- 
ment of public justice. We cannot certainly know 



THE THIRD COMMANDMENT. 



269 



but that God will so fill the mind of the witness with 
a sense of his fear, as that the truth may come out. 
In no case has a judge a right to release a competent 
witness, duly brought forward, by either party. 

III. PROFANENESS. 

The general definition of profaneness is irreverence 
for sacred names, or things, or institutions, or per- 
sons. A more specific definition is, that profaneness 
is the act of violating any thing sacred. The grossest 
form of profaning the name of God is by common 
swearing, in which oaths and curses are usually 
united; for very few men swear profanely without 
cursing also. Blackstone speaks of this as one sin, 
and calls it, "the offence of profane and common 
swearing and cursing." This sin consists, (besides 
the cursing,) in making an appeal to God in a light, 
passionate, or wicked manner, for no important pur- 
pose, and when not required to do so by any com- 
petent authority. Perhaps there is no branch of 
morals concerning which it is more difficult to preserve 
a healthy state of the public conscience. The diffi- 
culty is found, 1. In the natural lawlessness of the 
heart. It does not like to be under restraint to God. 
2. The habits of men are extensively corrupted in 
this matter. 3. Some moralists have written loosely 
on the subject. 4. Men in high places often set a 
very bad example. These causes have always been 
at work. They were felt in the days of our Saviour. 
Strict as the Pharisees were, in some things, they 
held that common swearing was no sin, even if it were 
by the name of God, provided what we swore was 
true; that no oath was binding where the name of 
23 * 



270 



THE THIRD COMMANDMENT. 



God was not expressly used ; and that we might swear 
as much as we pleased without offence, if we swore by 
heaven, by Jerusalem, &c. Thus they subverted the 
entire system of morality of speech built on the third 
commandment. The rebuke of our Saviour to them 
was terrible. "Woe unto you, ye blind guides! 
which say, Whosoever shall swear by the temple it is 
nothing ; but whosoever shall swear by the gold of the 
temple, he is a debtor! Ye fools and blind! for 
whether is greater, the gold, or the temple that sanc- 
tifieth the gold ? And, Whosoever shall swear by the 
altar it is nothing ; but whosoever sweareth by the 
gift that is upon it, he is guilty. Ye fools and blind ! 
For whether is greater the gift, or the altar that 
sanctifieth the gift? Whoso therefore, shall swear 
by the altar, sweareth by it, and by all things thereon. 
And whoso shall swear by the temple, sweareth by it, 
and by him that dwelleth therein. And he that shall 
swear by heaven, sweareth by the throne of God, and 
by him that sitteth thereon." Matt, xxiii. 16-22. 
The Old Testament no less distinctly condemns 
swearing by any thing but God. "How shall I par- 
don thee for this ? thy children have forsaken me, and 
sworn by them that are no gods." Jer. v. 7. To the 
same effect our Lord speaks in Matt. v. 33-37, where 
he notices the fact that the Pharisees condemned 
perjury, requiring the fulfilment of oaths to the Lord, 
but admitting common swearing. "Ye have heard 
that it hath been said by them of old time, Thou shalt 
not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord 
thine oaths: But I say unto you, Swear not at all: 
neither by heaven; for it is God's throne: nor by the 
earth; for it is his footstool: neither by Jerusalem; 



THE THIRD COMMANDMENT. 



271 



for it is the city of the great King: neither shalt 
thou swear by thy head; because thou canst not make 
one hair white or black. But let your communication 
be, Yea, yea ; Nay, nay : for whatsoever is more than 
these cometh of evil." 

The sin of swearing by any thing but God is posi- 
tively forbidden of old. "Thou shalt fear the Loud 
thy God, and serve him, and shalt swear by his 
name." Deut. vi. 13; Deut. x. 20. Swearing is an 
act of worship. When it is right to swear, such 
worship should be offered to none but him who 
searches the heart, and knows whether we swear 
truly; and who has almightiness, and justice, and 
sovereignty, and so can punish if we swear falsely. 
Swearing by any creature is therefore so far an act 
of idolatry, and yet, because it is a creature of God, 
we do in the esteem of Heaven take an oath, when we 
swear by it; and so, if we swear not truly, even by a 
creature, we do commit perjury in the sight of God. 
God's creatures were given us for other and lawful 
uses, and not to supplant our Maker. 

The reasons against profane swearing are many, 
and entitled to the most solemn consideration. 

1. Profane swearing never does any good. It 
makes no one wises, better or happier. It inspires 
no respect for him who uses it. It casts no light on 
any subject. It gives force to no argument. It 
strengthens no assertions. It gives no edge to wit. 
It does not promote cheerfulness, justice, truth or any 
good thing. It is a wholly useless practice. More 
than this, 

2. It always does harm. It must give pain to all 
right-minded people, who hear it. It is so much the 



272 



THE THIRD COMMANDMENT. 



language of passion that it either grieves or irritates. 
It often makes enemies, and weakens a good cause. 

3. It is, therefore, a wanton sin, committed for the 
love of sinning, and not for any good to be secured in 
time or eternity. It is a gratuitous expression of 
contempt towards God and all that is sacred. 

4. It is confessedly a vulgar practice. Even Ches- 
terfield says that swearing is inconsistent with the 
character of a gentleman. In a world like this, virtue 
and happiness greatly depend on good manners. 
Every one is bound to be truly gentle and polite. 
He owes it to his neighbours, not to offend against 
good breeding. Have you ever seen a man, who justi- 
fied profane language as a branch of good manners ? 

5. Profane swearing is forbidden by the laws of 
every well regulated government. The wisdom of 
lawgivers, sitting in council on the affairs of nations, 
has uniformly condemned profane oaths. We are 
bound by all the principles of patriotism to maintain, 
both by speech and example, all good rules and laws 
made for the country in which we live. 

6. Swearing leads to other evil practices. He who 
uses profane words, easily falls into the use of angry 
and bitter language. Cursing commonly goes with 
swearing. It is also generally conceded that swear- 
ing leads to obscene conversation. So utterly sub- 
versive of all good was profane swearing considered 
by the heathen, that the ancient Scythians punished 
it with the loss of the estate, the Persians with slavery, 
the Greeks with cutting off the ears, the Romans with 
hurling from a high rock. 

7. Profane swearing is a shocking sin. South : 
u All profanation and invasion of things sacred is an 



THE THIRD COMMANDMENT. 



273 



offence against the eternal laws of nature." It is 
never found alone. It dreadfully hardens the heart 
against God, and inclines men to reject both his mer- 
cies and his authority. It indisposes them to pray, 
to repent, to forsake any sin. While indulged it 
makes prayer a mockery. To swear one hour and 
pray the next is so inconsistent that very few men do 
both. Yet the poor, profane swearer is as feeble and 
dependent as his pious neighbour, and constantly 
needs the divine blessing to make existence desirable. 
How dreadful then must be that sin, which cuts off 
the soul from access to God ! How seldom are the 
profane inclined to repentance ! D wight : " Profane- 
ness is the mere flood-gate of iniquity, and the stream 
once let out, flows, with a current daily becoming 
more and more rapid and powerful. It is the very 
nurse of sin ; the foster-parent of ingratitude, rebel- 
lion and impiety. This witness is true." Thousands 
have testified as much. Boston, who had long noticed 
the effects of evil habits on mankind, says, " Profane 
swearers do seldom reform. Many are very extrava- 
gant otherwise in youth, who afterwards take up 
themselves ; but ofttimes swearing grows gray-headed 
with men." How much like a madman the swearer 
is in closing even the door of repentance and mercy 
against himself! 

8. The corrupting influence of profane swearing on 
society is terrible. The prophet Jeremiah says, 
" Because of swearing the land mourneth." Jer. xxiii. 
7. How our land mourns by reason of this sin, al- 
most all classes are made to feel. Among all profane 
swearers, you shall not find a teacher of Sabbath 
Schools, or one who reproves sin in his family, or 



274 



THE THIRD COMMANDMENT. 



who seeks the salvation of his fellow-men, or is other- 
wise a safe guide to those around him. You may 
search nations and empires throughout, and you shall 
not find a Howard among all the armies of profane 
swearers. This crime diminishes reverence for God, 
relaxes the force of solemn oaths, and prepares men 
for perjury and general irreligion. If the people of 
this nation continue thus to insult the- Most High, 
we may look for even more dire calamities than are 
now, (1864) in the midst of civil war, poured upon us 
out of the vials of God's wrath. " The mischiefs of 
evil examples," says one, " are always great ; in the 
present case they are dreadful. The tongue is obvi- 
ously the prime instrument of human corruption ; of 
diffusing and perpetuating sin ; of preventing the 
eternal life of our fellow men ; of extending perdi- 
tion over the earth ; and of populating the world of 
misery. . . . Among all the evil examples, which I 
have heard mentioned, I do not remember that a 
dumb man was ever named as one. No person, 
within my recollection, ever attributed his own sins to 
the example of such a man. Men corrupt each other 
pre-eminently by their speech. No individual, per- 
haps, ever began to swear profanely by himself : and 
few, very few, ever commenced the practice but from 
imitation. Let every profane person, therefore, 
solemnly remember how much guilt will be charged to 
him in the great day of accounts." 

9. God has put this sin in a catalogue of the worst 
offences. " The Lord hath a controversy with the in- 
habitants of the land, because there is no truth, nor 
mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land. By swear- 
ing, and lying, and killing, and stealing, and com- 



THE THIRD COMMANDMENT. 



275 



mitting adultery, they break out, and blood toucheth 
blood. Therefore shall the land mourn," &c. Hos. 
iv. 1-3. 

10. Dreadful judgments often overtake persons and 
communities, on account of this sin. This has often 
been declared by inspired and uninspired men. Jer. 
vii. 9-16 ; Zech. v. 4. But should no curse fall on 
the profane in this life, there is an eternity of retri- 
bution before us all. We must reap that which we 
sow. We must give an account to Him, who says of 
all profane swearers, that he will not hold them guilt- 
less. What everlasting sorrows await all who go to 
the next world with their souls denied with wicked 
oaths ! 

And now, dear reader, are not these reasons good ? 
Ought they not to decide the case ? You are a poor 
feeble worm, living on God's daily bounty. You 
need his favour. At any moment you may be called 
out of time into eternity. How dare you provoke his 
wrath by treating his name with contempt ? If even 
one profane oath has escaped your lips, humble your- 
self before God, heartily repent of your iniquity, and 
plead for forgiveness through the blood and righte- 
ousness of the Lord Jesus Christ. To the penitent 
who forsake sin, there is mercy. Ask for it now. 
Give your heart to Christ. How dreadful it will be 
to spend an eternity with all the foul-mouthed who 
shall day and night curse and blaspheme the God of 
heaven, and with all the vile from among men sink 
down in endless, hopeless sorrow ! 

The following little scrap, written by a pious man, 
has been used so often to impress upon the minds of 
men a sense of the sin of profane swearing, and even 



276 



THE THIRD COMMANDMENT. 



to persuade them to turn to God and live, that it is 
here inserted without alteration. It is entitled, 
" The Swearer's Prayer, or his Oath Explained." 

" What, a swearer pray ! Yes, swearer, whether 
thou thinkest so or not, each of thine oaths is a prayer 
— an appeal to the holy and Almighty God, whose 
name thou darest so impiously to take into thy lips. 

" And what is it, thinkest thou, swearer, that thou 
dost call for, when the awful imprecations, damn and 
damnation, roll so frequently from thy profane tongue ? 
Tremble, swearer, while I tell thee ! Thy prayer 
containeth two parts : thou prayest, First, that thou 
mayest be deprived of eternal happiness ! Secondly, 
that thou mayest be plunged into eternal misery ! 

" When, therefore, thou callest for damnation, dost 
thou not, in effect, say as follows ? 1 0 God ! thou 
hast power to punish me in hell for ever, therefore, 
let not one of my sins be forgiven ! Let every oath I 
have sworn — every lie that I have told — every Sab- 
bath that I have broken — and all the sins that I have 
committed, either in thought, word or deed, rise up in 
judgment against me, and eternally condemn me ! 
Let me never partake of thy salvation ! May my 
soul and body be deprived of all happiness, both in 
this world and that which is to come ! Let me never 
see thy face with comfort — never enjoy thy favour 
and friendship ; and let me never enter into the king- 
dom of heaven !' 

" This is the first part of thy prayer. Let us hear 
the second. 

" ' 0 God let me not only be shut out of heaven, but 
also shut up in hell ! May all the members of my 
body be tortured with inconceivable agony, and all 



THE THIRD COMMANDMENT. 



277 



the powers of my soul tormented with horror and de- 
spair, inexpressible and eternal ! Let my dwelling 
be in the blackness of darkness, and my companions 
accursed men and accursed devils ! Pour down thy 
hottest anger ; execute all thy wrath and curse upon 
me ; arm and send forth all thy terrors against me ; 
and let thy fierce, thy fiery, thy fearful indignation 
rest upon me ! Be mine eternal enemy, and plague, 
and punish, and torment me, in hell, for ever, and 
ever, and ever !' 

' ' Swearer, this is thy prayer I Oh dreadful impreca- 
tion ! Oh horrible, horrible, most horrible ! Blas- 
pheming man, dost thou like thy petition ? Look at 
it. Art thou sincere in thy prayer, or art thou mock- 
ing thy Maker ? Dost thou wish for damnation ? Art 
thou desirous of eternal torment ? If so, swear on, 
— swear hard. The more oaths the more misery ; 
and perhaps, the sooner thou mayest be in hell. Art 
thou shocked at this language ? Does it harrow up 
thy soul ? Does the very blood run cold in thy veins ? 
Art thou convinced of the evil of profane swearing ? 
How many times hast thou blasphemed the God of 
heaven ? How many times hast thou asked God to 
damn thee in the course of a year, a month, a day ? 
Nay, how many times in a single hour hast thou called 
for damnation ? Art thou not yet in hell ? Wonder, 
0 heavens and be astonished, 0 earth, at the goodness 
and long-suffering of that God whose great name 
swearing persons so often and so awfully profane ! 
Swearer, be thankful, 0 be exceedingly thankful, 
that God has not answered thy prayer, thy tremen- 
dous prayer — that his mercy and patience have with- 
holden the request of thy polluted lips. Never let 
24 



278 



THE THIRD COMMANDMENT. 



him hear another oath from thy unhallowed tongue, 
lest it should be thy last expression upon earth, and 
thy swearing prayer should be answered in hell. 0, 
let thine oaths be turned into supplications. Repent 
and turn to Jesus, who died for swearers as well as his 
murderers : and then, 0 then, though thou mayest 
have sworn as many oaths as there are 4 stars in the 
heavens, and sands upon the seashore, innumerable,' 
then thou shalt find, to thy eternal joy, that there is 
love enough in his heart and merit sufficient in his 
blood, to pardon thy sins, and to save thy soul for 
ever. Swearer, canst thou ever again blaspheme such 
a God and Saviour as this ? Does not thy conscience 
cry, Crod forbid? Even so, Amen." 

It is a vain endeavour on the part of some to avoid 
the guilt of profane swearing by mincing their oaths, 
as is the practice of many whose consciences still 
trouble them so much as to hinder them from the more 
outbreaking forms of this sin. Minced oaths are 
either oaths, or they are nonsense. If oaths, they 
are of course profane. If they are nonsense, they 
are not " good nonsense," and are clearly forbidden by 
Matt. xii. 36. They are certainly offensive to good man- 
ners and to God's people, 1 Cor. xv. 33, Matt, xviii. 6, 7. 

The following hints may be useful in restraining men 
from all profane swearing. 1. Hare: " I do not know 
that when a man is called to account for this his sin at the 
< bar of God's judgment seat, that he will much mend the 
matter by pleading that he had been guilty of it so often, 
at last it became a second nature to him, and he got to 
swear ever and anon without so much as intending it. 
For God perhaps may ask him in return, How 
earnest thou by that nature ?" 



THE THIRD COMMANDMENT. 



279 



2. Commit to memory the third commandment. Its 
language is clear and solemn. Very few men are able 
to remember its words and to swear profanely at the 
same time. 

3. Cultivate the fear of God in the heart. Let a 
sense of the awful majesty of the Most High fall 
upon you. 

4. Beware of needless social intercourse with men 
who are habitually profane. 

5. Control your passions amid needless and violent 
excitements. 

6. Whenever you go out into the world, try to carry 
with you the spirit of prayer. 

7. If at any time you fall into this sin, deeply 
humble yourself on that account and repent in deep 
sorrow. 

Swearing Reproved. The following narrative is 
known to many to be substantially correct. It has 
found its way into the public prints. In the city of 
, Dr. left his residence to ride on horse- 
back towards the lower part of the main street. He 
had not proceeded far when he met a well-mounted 
man, who was much excited with liquor. He hailed 
the doctor in an earnest and rather bluff manner. 
The latter stopped and looked him steadily in the 
face. Soon the excited man asked, " Have you seen 
a young man passing this way with a wagon ?" The 
doctor replied in the negative. From the lips of the 
inquirer soon escaped a number of profane and fool- 
ish oaths respecting the strange disappearance of the 
team and driver. 

The doctor sat still on his horse, greatly moved 
with compassion, and tenderly but steadily fixed his 



280 



THE THIRD COMMANDMENT. 



large eyes on the face of his neighbour. Presently 
the excited man asked for some trifling favour. The 
doctor promptly gave it, saying, " I take great plea- 
sure in doing anything to oblige you, although you 
have greatly hurt my feelings." The other replied, 
" How can that be? I did not intend to do so." 
The doctor replied, "You have spoken very disre- 
spectfully of my best friend." The reply was, " What 
do you mean ? I have said nothing against any one." 
The doctor answered, " The best Friend I have in the 
universe is God. Both to you and me He has done 
more kindness than all others besides. You have 
used his name here in my presence in a very profane 
way, and yet you ask, 'What have I said to hurt 
your feelings ?' Can I hear my God and Saviour 
spoken of contemptuously, and not be hurt ?" " Sir," 
said the man, " I ask your pardon." The doctor re- 
plied, " My pardon is nothing. I am a worm of the 
dust. Like you, I must soon stand before the judg- 
ment-seat of Christ, and give up my last and solemn 
account. Ask pardon of God." By this time the 
countenance of the man betrayed shame and remorse, 
and he said, " Sir, allow me to ask your name." The 
doctor said, " Oh, that is a matter of no importance. 
I shall soon meet you at the bar of God. I hope for 
salvation through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. 
Do you?" Thus saying, he bade good-bye to the 
excited man, and rode away. Neither party in this 
strange interview knew the name of the other. 

About nine or ten months after this, the doctor was 
delivering an address on temperance, and when the 
meeting was over, a man well-dressed and having 
an appearance of respectability, came to him and 



THE THIRD COMMANDMENT. 



281 



said, "I suppose you do not know me." "I do not," 
was the reply. " Do you not remember," said he, 
" that last summer you met a man at the corner of 
F. and F. streets, and reproved him for swearing?" 
"I do," said the doctor. "I am that man," he re- 
plied. " I went home distressed, and wondering who 
you were. I described your appearance to my son. 
He told me you were a minister of the gospel, and 
gave me your name. Since that day I have drunk no 
liquor ; I have stopped swearing ; and that is not 
all" — tears starting in his eyes — "the best of all is, 
I hope God has converted my soul." 

The affecting character of this meeting can be bet- 
ter conceived than described. Subsequent inquiry 
showed that the reformation was entire, and that the 
former swearer was now a praying man, and the former 
drunkard was leading a consistent Christian life. 
From this narrative it appears, 

1. There may be exceptions to the rule laid down 
by that wise and good man, Rev. Dr. Ebenezer Por- 
ter : "I will not talk to a man intoxicated with strong 
drink." Such conversation is sometimes dangerous, 
seldom improving, but not always without advantage. 
Let us be civil to even drunken men. Who knows 
but that we may do them good ? 

2. "Love, and say what you please." A stern or 
objurgatory manner commonly makes men worse ; but 
true tenderness commonly disarms enmity. 

3. "In the morning sow thy seed, and in the even- 
ing withhold not thy hand ; for thou knowest not 
whether shall prosper, either this or that, or whether 
they both shall be alike good." Let us be always at 
work, both in season and out of season. 

24* 



282 



THE THIRD COMMANDMENT. 



4. Let us overcome the fear of man. It brings a 
snare. I-t makes us cowardly. It excites the con- 
tempt of the wicked. " Be of good courage." When 
the council saw the boldness of Peter and John they 
marvelled, and they took knowledge of them that they 
had been with Jesus. 

5. We must not treat ail wicked men alike. Of 
some we must "have compassion, making a differ- 
ence." They must have none but gentle, persuasive 
words and tones. Others we must "save with fear, 
pulling them out of the fire." To such we must of- 
ten present the terrors of the Lord, and in his awful 
name point them to the wrath to come. 

6. How rich is divine grace ! how abundant is di- 
vine mercy ! It saves even profane swearers and 
drunkards. It can do all things. Oh that men would 
accept the salvation so freely and so sincerely offered 
to them by the Lord ! 

IV. ASSEVERATIONS. 

An asseveration may be either with or without an 
oath. The primary signification of the term pointed 
to an oath. But now we are said to asseverate when 
with repetition or solemnity we aver positively: a 
declaration without repetition is a simple assertion. 
An asseveration expresses vehemence, and is designed 
to give emphasis to one's declarations. Assevera- 
tions are right or wrong according to the occasion and 
manner of using them. When lawful, they do not 
materially differ from persistent declarations. Thus 
Rhoda, the damsel, constantly affirmed that Peter was 
at the gate. Acts xii. 15. We may make our as- 
severations very strong, even as Elisha did to Elijah, 



THE THIRD COMMANDMENT. 



283 



when he said, "As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul 
liveth." 2 Kings ii. 2, 4, 6. This is not really an 
oath; and yet it is an appeal to God and an assertion 
hardly less solemn than an oath. But asseverations 
are sinful when they are made without thoughtfulness 
or without any proper call for them. Ray: "Another 
ahuse of the tongue, I might add ; vehement assevera- 
tion upon slight and trivial occasions." We ought 
especially to guard against making any asseveration 
rashly or needlessly, as it tends to weaken our regard 
for sacred things. 

V. ATTESTATIONS. 

Attestations are nothing more than giving evidence 
without oath. But ordinarily they have in them a 
tone of positiveness and peremptoriness, not belong- 
ing to ordinary testimony, and they may partake 
and often do partake of an appeal to God. If the 
occasion is sufficiently solemn and important, and the 
attestation reverent, it is not sinful. It is frequently 
accompanied with such phrases as truly, indeed, I 
solemnly declare, &c. But when made in rashness, or 
on frivolous occasions, or with irreverence of manner 
or of heart towards God or sacred things, it is con- 
trary to the spirit of this commandment. 

VI. OBTESTATIONS. 

Obtestations are exceedingly earnest entreaties or 
supplications, made to our fellow-men, respecting 
something which we desire. When lawful, they are 
solemnly made. Paul used such: "I beseech you, 
brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your 
bodies a living sacrifice, &c." Rom. xii. V. Again, 



284 



THE THIRD COMMANDMENT. 



"I, Paul, beseech you by the meekness of Christ." 
2 Cor. x. 1. These too are contrary to the spirit of 
the third commandment, when made without just 
cause ; much more when employed to persuade men to 
that which is sinful. 

VII. IMPRECATIONS. 

Imprecations are prayers, by which we seek evil to 
ourselves or others. They are conditional or uncon- 
ditional. If unconditional, they are mere curses. 
The general spirit of the gospel and of its precepts is 
counter to them. "Bless, and curse not." "The 
wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God." 
"Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord." 
When directed towards others, if they partake of the 
spirit of railing, this adds to their sinfulness. Jude 9. 
There may be solemn occasions when we may condi- 
tionally imprecate evil upon ourselves, as did the 
royal Psalmist. Ps. vii. 3-5. All imprecations, how- 
ever, are sinful, when our appeal is to Satan; when 
they are made to establish a falsehood; to express 
malignant passions against others, and when there is 
no solemn occasion for them. 

VIII. SUPERSTITIOUS OBSERVANCES. 

These are so numerous, and vary so much with the 
country, and even the neighbourhood where they pre- 
vail, that a detail of them would fill a volume. Sailors 
are superstitious about having a minister of religion 
on board their vessels ; and about sailing on Friday. 
Some farmers are superstitious about almost every 
thing they do. Some will hardly sow flax, except on 
Good Friday. Some persons are alarmed if they spill 



THE THIRD COMMANDMENT. 



285 



salt on the table; if they sneeze when putting on 
their shoes ; or if they have a burning sensation in 
the left ear. All these and like things are senseless, 
are calculated to make life miserable, and to reduce 
us to slavery to perpetual apprehensions. 

IX. GENERAL IRREVERENCE. 

Our Saviour and his apostles very carefully guard 
us against all needless introduction of the name of 
God into common conversation. " Let your commu- 
nication be Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is 
more than these cometh of evil." Matt. v. 37. 
" But above all things, my brethren, swear not, 
neither by heaven, neither by the earth, neither by 
any other oath: but let your yea be yea; and your 
nay, nay; lest ye fall into condemnation." James v. 
12. It may greatly encourage us to pay a strict re- 
gard to these injunctions, to know that those who 
keep at the greatest distance from all irreverence and 
needless appeals to God, other things being equal, 
probably suffer least in their reputation for veracity. 
And in general, we should avoid every thing that 
seems to us inconsistent with profound and awful 
reverence for the Divine Majesty. 

The Westminster Assembly say: "The sins for- 
bidden in the third commandment are, the not using 
of God's name as is required; and the abuse of it in 
an ignorant, vain, irreverent, profane, superstitious, 
or wicked mentioning, or otherwise using his titles, 
attributes, ordinances, or works, by blasphemy, per- 
jury; all sinful cursings, oaths, vows, and lots; vio- 
lating of our oaths and vows, if lawful; and fulfilling 
them, if of things unlawful; murmuring and quarrel- 



286 



THE THIRD COMMANDMENT. 



ling at, curious prying into, and misapplying of God's 
decrees and providences; misinterpreting, misapply- 
ing, or any way perverting the word, or any part of 
it, to profane jests, curious or unprofitable questions, 
vain j anglings, or the maintaining of false doctrines; 
abusing it, the creatures, or any thing contained un- 
der the name of God, to charms, or sinful lusts and 
practices; the maligning, scorning, reviling, or any 
ways opposing of God's truth, grace, and ways; 
making profession of religion in hypocrisy, or for 
sinister ends ; being ashamed of it, or a shame to it, by 
uncomfortable, unwise, unfruitful, and offensive walk- 
ing, or backsliding from it." 

THE THREATENING ANNEXED TO THIS COMMANDMENT. 

This is expressed in terms well-suited to fill the mind 
with awe: for " the Lord will not hold him guiltless 
that taketh his name in vain." The threatening is 
delivered in a figure of speech, common to all lan- 
guages, wherein much more is implied than is ex- 
pressed. When the apostle Peter, exhorting the 
early Christians to holiness, says, " The time past of 
our life may suffice us to have wrought the will of the 
Gentiles," he means to say, that we have spent far 
too much time in that wicked course of life. This 
threatening clearly implies, 1. That we shall have a 
solemn and awful reckoning with God — a reckoning in 
which his creatures shall have all their conduct inves- 
tigated with the scrutiny of omniscience, shall all be 
found innocent or guilty, and shall all be condemned 
or acquitted. 2. In that awful account, we .shall 
answer to God for all irreverence of thought, or feel- 
ing, or speech, or action. 3. God will by no means 



THE THIRD COMMANDMENT. 



287 



clear the guilty, and in particular, by no means clear 
those who shall then be found guilty of breaking this 
commandment. 4. No mercy shall be shown to men 
whose souls shall then be found defiled with the guilt 
of this sin. Yea, the Lord will not hold him 

GUILTLESS THAT TAKETH HIS NAME IN VAIN. Such a 

one may perhaps hold himself guiltless ; he may esteem 
himself a fine fellow ; he may think that he graces his 
profanity with the air of a gentleman ; he may imagine 
that he is quite above all responsibility even to God. 
Moreover his fellows may hold him guiltless ; may 
make light of his sin ; may call him brave and elegant. 
But Jehovah, the lawgiver of heaven and earth, will 
not acquit him. To God he is responsible, and in God's 
sight he is criminal. If the profane man, at the last 
day, stands alone, still God will reckon with him. If 
hand has joined in hand, and he is surrounded by a 
crew of the ungodly, their numbers shall not protect 
him. Pr. xi. 21. If he is poor, and steals, and take3 
the name of his God in vain, Prov. xxx. 9, still his 
poverty shall not screen him. If he is rich and gifted 
and honourable in men's esteem, and violates this com- 
mand, his pomp shall be brought down to the grave, 
yea, he shall be brought down to hell, to the sides of 
the pit. Isa. xiv. 11, 14. In all cases the violation 
of this commandment has many aggravations. It is - 
committed immediately against God. It is in the 
teeth of the expressed letter of the law. It is out- 
breaking. It is suited to lead others astray. It ad- 
mits of no reparation. It is against the law of nature. 
It is against all the religious instruction we have ever 
received. It is against the laws of common politeness. 
If open, it is against every man's convictions of right. 



288 



THE THIRD COMMANDMENT. 



It is exceedingly impudent. It is heaven-daring. It 
is an expression of deep malignity against God. Ps. 
cxxxix. 20. 

While indeed the profane person, who shall repent, 
shall obtain forgiveness, profaneness is a sin which 
greatly disinclines men to turn to God. To the peni- 
tent, the offence is not unpardonable. But how hard 
it is to bring a man to cry for mercy, when for a long 
time he has been insulting the Father of all mercies 
and the God of all grace. 



THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT, 



289 



CHAPTER XVII. 

THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT. 

Remember the sabbath-day to keep it holy. 
Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy 
work ; BUT the seventh day is the sabbath of the 
lord thy god : IN it thou SHALT not do any work, 
thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy man- 
servant, NOR THY MAID-SERVANT, NOR THY CATTLE, 
NOR THY STRANGER THAT IS WITHIN THY GATES : FOR 
IN SIX DAYS THE LORD MADE HEAVEN AND EARTH, THE 
SEA AND ALL THAT IN THEM IS, AND RESTED THE 
SEVENTH DAY: WHEREFORE THE LORD BLESSED THE 
SABBATH-DAY, AND HALLOWED IT. 

NO man can seriously read and consider this pre- 
cept without seeing that it is of vast importance. 
It is a law claiming to regulate a seventh portion of 
human life. If a man lives twenty-one years, this 
law claims the entire control of three of them; if he 
lives fifty years, it disposes of more than seven of 
them. It is therefore important. But it also devotes 
this portion of time to religious purposes ; and these 
are the highest ends of life. All other time is secular. 
This is holy. That may be occupied with things 
which perish in the using. This must be given to 
25 



290 



THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT. 



things which take hold on eternity. Many questions 
may be raised concerning this law ; but one question 
is at the foundation of all the rest : " Is this law still 
in force?" If it is not binding now, it never will be; 
and if it is binding now, it will bind while the world 
stands. The inquiry is of great practical interest. 
Public manners are vastly affected by the esteem in 
which the Sabbath is held. It is, therefore, right to 
look well to the foundations. 

DOES THE LAW OF THE SABBATH BIND US? 

It is evident that laws may cease to be of force ; 
that is, they may cease to be laws. When this occurs, 
it must be in one of the following ways. 

The condition of a people may be so changed as to 
render obedience to the law impracticable. In human 
governments such cases often arise, and the law, unless 
administered by tyrants, becomes a dead letter. No 
good government will inflict the penalty on the trans- 
gressor to whom obedience is impossible, even though 
the law remains on the statute-book. But the law of 
the Sabbath can as well be kept now as at any former 
period of the world. Indeed, when given from Mount 
Sinai, it was given to a people on a long journey, to 
whom were wanting many conveniences which we enjoy 
for its careful observance. If this law was in its 
nature ever practicable, it is so now. 

Some laws expire by limitation. Such are many of 
the laws of every country. Such were many of the 
laws given by Moses. They were in force until Christ, 
who was their end, came ; and then they bound no 
longer. Thus the whole ceremonial law ceased to 
bind after the death of Christ, to which it was limited. 



THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT. 



291 



But no limit was fixed to the observance of the fourth 
commandment, either when first given or afterwards. 

A competent authority may repeal a law, and thus 
its obliging power may cease. Every free govern- 
ment affords numerous instances of the repeal of laws 
once useful, but no longer so. In a regular govern- 
ment, the repeal must be passed by the power which 
enacts the law. The great Lawgiver of the world is 
God. He ordained the law of the Sabbath, and he 
has never repealed it. Is any evidence of such 
repeal found in Scripture ? If so, where is the 
book, the chapter, the verse containing it ? All 
admit that the law was in force until Christ. Christ 
did not repeal it, for he says so, Matt. v. 17 ; nor did 
the apostles anywhere declare that it was repealed. 

If this law, therefore, had ceased to bind, it must 
be in some way utterly unknown to us. It is still 
practicable ; it has not expired by limitation ; it has 
not been repealed. 

THIS LAW IS PART OF A CODE WHICH IS IN FORCE. 

It may also be said that this law is in the middle of 
a code, all the rest of which is acknowledged to be 
binding ; and why not this ? Were the other precepts 
of this code spoken by God from Sinai amidst black- 
ness and darkness, and tempest and terrors ? So was 
this. Were the others written by the finger of God, 
on tables of stone ? So was this. Were the others 
deposited in the ark of the testimony, in the holy of 
holies, under the wings of the cherubim ? So was 
this. No ceremonial or repealable law, given to the 
Jews, had these marks of honour put upon it. Did 
Christ say, " I came not to destroy, but to fulfil the 



292' THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT. 

law?" He said it as much of this as of any other 
precept. Did Christ's most devoted followers keep 
the other commandments ? So did they keep this. 
Luke xxiii. 56. 

THIS LAW ENACTED WITH GREAT CARE. 

On the face of this law are found some things 
which prove that God, who gave it, regarded it as of 
great importance. 

In the wording of it, a more full explanation of its 
true intent is given than in any other commandment. 
It is enacted both positively and negatively : posi- 
tively, " Remember the Sabbath-day to keep it holy ;" 
negatively, " In it thou shalt do no manner of work." 
No other precept of the decalogue is given in both these 
forms, although every fair rule of interpreting them re- 
quires, that when they enjoin a duty, we should regard 
them as forbidding the contrary sin : and when they 
forbid a sin, we should regard them as enjoining the 
contrary duty. Yet in this command, but in no other, 
both forms are used. 

This shows that God has a great zeal for the obser- 
vance of the Sabbath, and that he is determined we 
shall not misunderstand his will concerning it. It 
also intimates the peculiar proneness in our nature to 
forget the sacredness of this day ; and so God puts us 
on our guard in the most solemn manner ; and has 
taken " an especial care to fence us in on all sides to 
the observance of this precept." 

This command is also introduced as no other is. 
The very first word of it is a solemn memento — " Re- 
member." This word is not found elsewhere in the 
decalogue. 



THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT. 



293 



Moreover, this command not only addresses men in 
the singular, " Thou shalt," &c, but it goes further, 
and tells who is thereby intended, namely, not only 
the head of the family, but also the son, the daughter, 
the man-servant and the maid-servant, the cattle and 
the stranger. No such particularity is found in any 
other precept of either table of the law. 

THREE REASONS CONTAINED IN THE COMMANDMENT 
FOR OBSERVING IT. 

L God reasons with us on the equity of his demands. 
He says, he gives us six days out of seven, as if he 
had said, " I am no hard master ; I do not act un- 
reasonably. I give you ample time to do your neces- 
sary work. I give you six days ; therefore, if you 
have any conscience, give me the seventh. ' ' For, says 
he, " It is mine — it is the Sabbath of the Lord your 
God." Surely, you will not deny to your God a 
right so equitable, a demand so fair. 

2. It is also stated by God in the command itself, 
that he set us the example on the completion of the 
creation. And shall we not follow such an example ? 
Calvin : " It is no small stimulus to any action, for a 
man to know that he is imitating his Creator." If 
we ought to be holy because God is holy, if we ought 
to forgive our enemies because God forgives his ene- 
mies, we ought also to keep the Sabbath-day because 
God kept it. Teaching by example is the highest 
kind of instruction. " Be ye followers of God, as dear 
children." Eph. v. 1. 

3. The Lord blessed the Sabbath-day, and hallowed 
it. There is an important sense in which God has 
blessed each day of the week, but he has blessed this 

26 * 



29-4 THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT. 

peculiarly, so that Ignatius calls it " The prince 
and sovereign OF DAYS." Strike out of the history 
of pious men the instructions, the warnings, the devo- 
tions, the refreshments, which they have received on 
this day, and what a blank would there be ! Hare : 
" The same difference which there is between common 
down and a cultivated garden, the same is there also 
between worldly days, worldly books, worldly names, 
worldly people, and God's day, God's book, God's 
name, and God's people. The former are common, 
and may be treated as such : the latter are not com- 
mon ; because God has taken them to himself, and 
brought them within the limits of his sanctuary, and 
thrown the safeguard of his holiness around them." 
It was on our Christian Sabbath, that the conversa- 
tion between Christ and the disciples on the way to 
Emmaus took place. And from that day to this have 
the hearts of pious men been made to burn within 
them as in the sanctuary they have attended to the 
wonderful discoveries of his grace and truth. It is 
also said that God hallowed it ; that is, he set it apart 
from a common use to his own solemn worship. Some 
think that the phrases blessed and hallowed are ex- 
planatory of each other. Perhaps to an extent they 
are. But there is no tautology here. 

THE SABBATH GIVEN IN EDEN. 

Nor did the Sabbath originate with Moses, or with 
any sinner. It was an ordinance in Eden. So that 
the first whole day that man ever spent on earth, was 
in the observance of this holy day. " The Sabbath 
is but one day younger than man: was ordained for 
him in the state of his uprightness and innocence, 



THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT. 



295 



that his faculties being then holy and excellent, he 
might employ them, especially on that day, in the 
singular and most spiritual worship of God his 
Creator." When, for his sins, man was driven out 
of Paradise, God permitted him to carry with him two 
institutions, established for his good before his fall. 
Which of these institutions is the greatest mercy to 
our world, or which is the dearest to the heart of a 
good man, I will not undertake to say. One of them 
is marriage, the other the Sabbath-day. If he is the 
enemy of virtue who would abolish the former, he 
cannot be the friend of God or man who would set 
aside the latter. By restoring marriage, as far as 
possible, to its original purity in Eden, that is, by 
confining it to the pairs and rendering it indissoluble, 
the Christian religion has incalculably advanced civi- 
lization, peace, and all the domestic virtues. By re- 
storing the Sabbath, as near as possible, to its purity 
in Eden, that is, by the holy observance of all of it, 
man makes his nearest approach to primitive inno- 
cence and to future glory. There is no example of 
any community, large or small, ancient or modern, 
continuing virtuous or happy for a considerable 
time, if they slighted either marriage or the Sabbath- 
day. 

That the Sabbath was instituted in Eden, is ex- 
pressly stated in Gen. ii. 2, 3. The same is repeated 
in the decalogue. Some have indeed said that there 
was no Sabbath observed by the patriarchs from 
Adam until the giving of the law on Mount Sinai. 
But this is surely a mistake. In Ex. xvi., the Sab- 
bath is spoken of as an ancient institution well- 
understood. In the 5th verse, all Israel is required 



296 



THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT. 



to prepare for its observance by gathering twice as 
much manna on the day preceding the Sabbath, as on 
any other day in the week. Again, in the 23d verse, 
it is said, "This is. that which the Loed hath said, 
To-morrow is the rest of the holy Sabbath unto the 
Lord." And in verses 28, 29, is a sharp rebuke for 
not strictly observing the day. "The Lord said 
unto Moses, How long refuse ye to keep my com- 
mandments and my laws? See, for that the Lord 
hath given you the Sabbath, therefore he giveth you 
on the sixth day, the bread of two days: abide ye 
every man in his place, let no man go out of his place 
on the seventh day." Then, in the 30th verse, it is 
added, "So the people rested on the seventh day." 
And when God does actually give the law from Sinai, 
he does not declare that he is giving a new institution, 
but says, "Remember the Sabbath-day," as though it 
were an institution that they had known in all their 
generations. Some say that the patriarchs had no 
Sabbath, because it is nowhere stated that they kept 
such a day. But this cannot prove that there was no 
Sabbath from Adam to Moses, any more than the 
fact that no mention of the Sabbath is made during 
the time of the judges, of Samuel, or of Saul, proves 
that Israel wholly neglected the fourth commandment, 
from Joshua to David. "Arguments based on the 
silence of history are generally inconclusive." More- 
over the patriarchs counted by weeks, and this shows 
that the ordinance of Eden was in force. Gen. viii. 
10, 12; Gen. xxix. 27, 28. 

The foregoing remarkable peculiarities of this pre- 
cept justly entitle it to as high and sacred regard as 
can be claimed for any command given from Mount 



THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT. 



29T 



Sinai. If we admit that this is not of binding force, 
we cannot show the obligation of any of the rest, un- 
less we can show that they are in some way written 
in the constitution of man, and that this is not. But 
it would be easy to show, by innumerable testimonies, 
that life is not only rendered miserable, but also 
much shortened by not observing the day of rest. 
The world over, those men do the most work, and do 
it with the most comfort, who rest from labour one 
day in seven. Nor is there one exception to this 
remark. It applies as much to mental as to bodily 
labour. 

THE LAW OFTEN ENACTED. 

The law of the Sabbath is frequently noticed in 
other parts of the Bible besides the moral law; it is 
frequently and solemnly declared to be binding, and 
its spiritual nature is often explained. Indeed, the 
law of the Sabbath is several times solemnly reenacted. 
It is mentioned with the highest reverence in the 
second chapter of Genesis, as a day "blessed and 
sanctified" by God. It is especially mentioned as 
binding during the journey through the wilderness, in 
the sixteenth chapter of Exodus, four chapters before 
that containing the moral law. It is repeated in the 
thirty-first chapter of the same book. It is also made 
by God the pattern for the solemn feasts of his 
ancient church. Leviticus xxiii. In short, it is often 
noticed by Moses, by David, by Isaiah, Jeremiah, 
and Ezekiel. The 92d Psalm is by its author de- 
nominated "A Psalm or Song for the Sabbath-day." 
One of these passages could not have pointed more 
plainly to a spiritual service on the Sabbath, if it had 
been given by Christ or Paul. It is in Isaiah lviii. 



298 



THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT. 



13, 14: "If thou turn away thy foot from the Sab- 
bath," that is, from trampling on it, "from doing thy 
pleasure on my holy day; and call the Sabbath a de- 
light, the holy of the Lord, honourable ; and shalt 
honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding 
thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words ; 
then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord; and I 
will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the 
earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob: for 
the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it." 

In the New Testament, also, frequent mention is 
made of a day of rest and solemn worship. It is not 
necessary now to examine more than one of these pas- 
sages. It is in the fourth chapter of Hebrews, where 
the rest of the Sabbath in Eden is made the figure of 
the rest of the Jews in Canaan, then of the rest of 
God's people under the gospel dispensation, and lastly, 
of the everlasting rest of all good men in heaven. 
Surely, so clear and evangelical a writer as Paul, in 
an epistle, one great object of which was to show 
that the ceremonial law had passed away, would not 
have made the Sabbath on earth a type of the bliss 
of heaven even to Christians, if he had thought they 
were at liberty to regard it otherwise than as a holy, 
religious day. From the Scriptures the following 
things are clearly made out. 

In both the Old and New Testaments God claims 
the day as his. Exod. xx. 10 ; Isa. lviii. 13 ; Kev. 
i. 10. 

Pious men have always acknowledged this claim. 
Neh. ix. 14; Luke xxiii. 56. Was there ever a com- 
munity on earth who feared God and did not 
reverence his Sabbaths ? When that company of 



THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT. 299 



heathen and mutineers who settled Pitcairn's Island, 
repented and gave evidence of piety, although there 
was but one Bible and one man from a Christian 
country among them, yet the Sabbath was strictly 
observed. 

There walked of late in this world a man of con- 
ceptions as sublime as they were philosophical, of 
views as benevolent as they were accurate. Recently, 
"he was not, for God took him." Before he left us, 
Chalmers said, 

"We never, in the whole course of our recollec- 
tions, met with a Christian who bore upon his cha- 
racter every other evidence of the Spirit's operation, 
who did not remember the Sabbath-day and keep it 
holy. We appeal to the memory of all the worthies 
who are lying in their graves, that, eminent as they 
were in every other grace and accomplishment of the 
new creature, the religiousness of their Sabbath-day 
shone with equal lustre amid the fine assemblage of 
virtues which adorned them. * * * * 

"Rest assured, that the Christian, having the law 
of God written in his heart, and denying the Sabbath 
a place in his affections, is an anomaly that is nowhere 
to be found. Every Sabbath image, with every Sab- 
bath circumstance, is dear to him. He loves the 
quietness of that hallowed morn. He loves the 
church-bell sound that summons him to the house of 
prayer. He loves to join the chorus of devotion, and 
to sit and listen to that voice of persuasion, which is 
lifted in the hearing of an assembled multitude. He 
loves the retirement of this day from the din of 
worldly business and the inroads of worldly men. 
He loyes the leisure it brings along with it ; and sweet 



300 



THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT. 



to his soul is the exercise of that hallowed hour, when 
there is no eye to witness him but the eye of Heaven, 
and when, in solemn audience with the Father who 
seeth him in secret, he can, on the wings of celestial 
contemplation, leave all the cares and all the seculari- 
ses of the world behind him." 

So it has ever been. He, who loves God's word 
and worship, he, who delights in prayer and praise, 
loves the day devoted to the study of Scripture, and 
the service of Jehovah. Among the thousands of reli- 
gious biographies now before the world, is there one 
which shows that any heart loved the other precepts 
of the decalogue and disregarded this ? 

It is generally agreed that Christ came to enlarge, 
not to curtail the privileges of his people, and espe- 
cially of the poor and afflicted, many of whom are not 
the masters of their own time. But if he abolished 
the Sabbath, he cut off the pious poor from one of 
their dearest privileges, one no less necessary to re- 
lieve their heavy hearts than to refresh their toil-worn 
bodies. 

The Scriptures contain many precious promises to 
those who reverently keep this day, and take pleasure 
in its appropriate duties. Isa. lvi. 1-7, andlviii. 14; 
Jer. xvii. 21-26. To such God will give, in his house 
and within his walls, a place and a name better than 
of sons and of daughters. He will give them an ever- 
lasting name, that shall not be cut off. He will make 
them joyful in his house of prayer, and will accept all 
their sacrifices ; and blessings like those which came 
upon Jacob shall fall upon them. 

The Scriptures denounce many terrible curses 
against those who profane this holy day. Jer, xvii. 



THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT. 301 



27 ; Ezek. xx. 21. These curses are none the less 
dreadful because expressed in general terms. 
* God has often visited, and does still visit sore 
calamities on many violators of his holy day. From 
the days of the man who perished for his sin in the 
camp of Israel, Num. xv. 36, to this day, God has 
made awful examples of Sabbath-breakers. The man 
has been blind who has not seen them. Almost all 
felons in prison and under the gallows are known to 
have provoked God by a series of open violations of 
the law of the Sabbath. Of six ladies who spent their 
Sabbaths at cards, five died either objects of pity or 
without a moment's warning. Not one in fifty of 
known criminals in the land even outwardly keeps 
the Sabbath. Men forsake God, and he forsakes 
them. They despise him, and he takes away the 
restraints of his providence, and they are lightly 
esteemed, yea, become vile in the eyes of even wicked 
men. 

In both the Old and New Testaments God declares 
that the Sabbath is a benevolent institution. He says, 
he " has given us the Sabbath." Exod. xvi. 29. It is 
not a vexatious or injurious restriction upon us, but a 
gift, a mercy. " I gave them my Sabbaths, that they 
might know that I am the Lord that sanctify them," 
Ezek. xx. 12 ; that they might have proper time to 
acquire the most important of all knowledge, the 
knowledge of God and salvation. Christ himself taught 
the same, when he said, " The Sabbath was made for 
man." Mark ii. 27. It was made to do him good, 
and not evil. Nor was it made for the J ew alone. It 
was made for man, for the whole race. 

Both the Old and New Testaments record the ob- 
20 



302 



THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT. 



servance of this day by godly men as an act ap- 
proved by God, and appointed in Scripture. Even 
after the death of our Lord, the holy women, who 
wished to anoint his sacred body, would not do it until 
the Sabbath was over, but "rested the Sabbath-day 
according to the commandment." Luke xxiii. 56. 

PROPHECY REQUIRES A CHRISTIAN SABBATH. 

The Old Testament requires that under the gospel, 
in times of its universal prevalence, " from one sab- 
bath to another, all flesh shall come to worship be- 
fore the Lord." Isa. lxvi. 23, and Ezek. xlvi. 1. 
This is an argument of great importance. The holy 
observance of the Sabbath is made by the prophets 
one of the tests by which the evangelical character of 
any people, after the coming of Christ, shall be 
judged. The prophets declare that the offering of 
prayer and praise, and solemn oaths, in the name of 
the true God, shall be marks of a true gospel church. 
Psalm lxxii. 15 ; Isa. lvi. 7 ; lxv. 16. Suppose a 
church should be found, whose members in solemn 
oaths swore by some other than the true God, and 
never prayed to the Lord, nor daily praised his name, 
could any man fail to see that it was without the 
marks of a true church? And if no Sabbath was 
observed in the church of God, it would prove that 
Messiah's reign had not yet commenced. Christianity 
would not be what prophecy required that it should be. 
The test is a fair one. Just in proportion as churches 
decline in the practice and power of godliness, become 
unsound in doctrine, licentious in life, and lax in disci- 
pline, wedded to human inventions, and heedless of 
the law of God in other respects, in the same propor- 



THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT. 



303 



tion do they lightly esteem the Sabbath of the Lord. 
No Sabbath, no Church, is the rule laid down in 
Scripture. It is a correct rule. Without that holy 
day, all true religion would soon vanish from the 
earth. 

A SABBATH AFTER CHRIST'S RESURRECTION. 

When our Lord was upon earth, he foretold the 
destruction of Jerusalem, stating that the enemies of 
the holy city should cast a trench about it, and that 
the Roman eagle, the abomination that maketh deso- 
late, should be seen from its walls. He directed his 
disciples how they should, with the utmost haste, flee 
from the city, and said, " But pray ye that your flight 
be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath-day." 
Matt. xxiv. 20. Now, Jerusalem was not destroyed 
for more than thirty years after Christ's ascension, 
and this prophecy was delivered for the direction of 
Christ's disciples, when the siege, leading to its de- 
struction, should take place. They were to pray that 
their flight "be not in the winter," on account of the 
difficulty of fleeing at that season, "neither on the 
sabbath-day." Whatever may have been the reason 
why the Sabbath-day was undesirable for flight, whether 
because it wa3 not deemed lawful to travel far on 
that day — a Sabbath-day's journey being less than 
three miles — or because their tender consciences 
might cause them to hesitate, and not embrace the 
favoured hour of escape, yet the fact is clear, that 
Christ foretold that at the destruction of Jerusalem, 
long after his ascension to glory, long after tens of 
thousands had been converted to the faith of Jesus, 
his people should have a day of rest, called by him- 



304 



THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT. 



self, "the Sabbath-day." Human perverseness may 
annul the force of any reasoning, but candour and 
piety will be satisfied with fair argument. All admit 
that all laws and ordinances given by Moses, and not 
binding to the end of the world, ceased to be of force 
from the ascension of Christ. But the flight of the 
Christians from the holy city was more than thirty 
years after that event, and yet Christ speaks of a 
" Sabbath-day" that should at that date, in the 
mother church at Jerusalem, bind the consciences, not 
of Jews wedded to the law of Moses, but of Christians, 
converted, baptized, and formed into churches taught 
by apostles themselves. 

THE EARLY CHRISTIANS HAD A SABBATH. 

If we look into the early history of the Christians, 
we see that they did observe a day of sacred rest ; 
the first day of each week. On that day of the first 
week after the crucifixion, Jesus rose and was wor- 
shipped: on that day of the second week after his 
death, he assembled his disciples, and said, " Peace be 
unto you," and confirmed their faith. The first day 
of the eighth week after his death, was the day of 
Pentecost, a glorious Christian Sabbath. In several 
passages of Scripture, we find a record of the meet- 
ing of the disciples and churches of Christ on that day, 
to worship God, to preach the gospel, to administer 
baptism and the Lord's supper, and to collect alms, 
so that when Paul wrote his first epistle to the 
Corinthians, he directs that collections for charitable 
purposes be made weekly upon that set day. The 
work he directs them to perform is a work of piety, 
of proper love to their poor brethren, who were suflfer- 



THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT. 



305 



ing through the violence of persecution — a work 
proper to a holy day ; for it always was " lawful to 
do well on the Sabbath-days." Matt. xii. 12. "Pure 
religion and undefiled before God, even the Father, 
is, to visit the fatherless and widows in their afflic- 
tion." Paul says that he had given the same com- 
mand to other churches — the churches of Galatia, 
1 Cor. xvi. 1 — so that the observance was general. 
Paul gave these directions by the Holy Ghost. 
Galatia was quite remote from Corinth, several 
countries and a sea lying between them ; so that the 
religious observance of the first day of the week was 
very general, and by no means confined to any one 
nation or class of Christians. 

When we come to the last book of Scripture, we 
find John, Rev. i. 10, saying, " I was in the Spirit on 
the Lord's day." We read in the New Testament 
once of the "Lord's supper," and once of the " Lord's 
day." Does any one doubt that these expressions 
designate a feast and a day well known to the early 
Christians, and distinguished from all other days and 
feasts by their religious character ? 

Such are some of the arguments, by which it is 
shown that the Sabbath should be observed by us. 
Are they not fair, solid, and conclusive? Are we not 
bound by the law of the Sabbath ? 

The most common method of attempting to destroy 
or lessen the force of these arguments, is by asserting, 
that if we are bound to observe any day, it is the 
seventh, and not the first, as the seventh was the day 
observed from the creation till the death of Christ. 
It is sufficient to reply, 

1. That the term Sabbath signifies rest ; and that 
26 • 



306 



THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT. 



rest by divine appointment may, without at all chang- 
ing its nature, be transferred from one day to another. 
Some other Jewish festivals were called sabbaths, 
but never is one of them called " the Sabbath" " the 
rest." 

2. There is nothing in the fourth commandment, 
fixing this weekly rest to the seventh day of the week. 
The law in the decalogue does not point out any day 
of the week, but only a day succeeding six days of 
labour. It is said, " God blessed the Sabbath-day 
and hallowed it." 

3. The resurrection of Christ was a very glorious 
event, to which the highest importance is properly at- 
tached, and which is well worthy of a weekly and 
joyful commemoration. His resurrection was life 
from the dead to all his people, and to all their hopes. 
If the completion of creation was worthy of a weekly 
celebration, much more is the same true of the com- 
pletion of redemption. For Christians to celebrate 
the seventh day, would be to keep a feast on the 
gloomiest day of the week — the day on which their 
Lord lay in the sepulchre of Joseph. 

4. Apostolic example is as safe and correct a guide 
as apostolic precept, and no serious and candid reader 
of the New Testament can doubt that the apostles 
and early Christians did observe the first day of the 
week as the rest appointed by God. This fact, there- 
fore, clearly determines our duty. Many duties are 
taught us by the example of inspired men. An ap- 
peal to such example is fair, and the example itself 
is binding. 

In Acts xx. 7 we read, " Upon the first day of the 
week, when the disciples came together to break bread, 



THE FOUKTH COMMANDMENT. 307 



Paul preached unto them." So from the early part 
of the first century to the present time, the whole 
Christian world has observed the first day of the week 
as the sacred rest approved by Christ. 

5. It is believed by many sound writers, that pro- 
phecy foretold that the day of Christ's resurrection 
should be kept as the Sabbath under the gospel. This 
prophecy is in the 118th Psalm : " The stone which 
the builders refused is become the headstone of the 
corner." They refused him when they demanded his 
death. He became the headstone by his resurrection ; 
for by that " he was declared to be the Son of God 
with power," Rom. i. 4. The very next words in the 
Psalm are, " This is the day which the Lokd hath 
made ; we will be glad and rejoice in it." 

Some have suggested that the weekly day of rest 
under the gospel, which is an eminently spiritual dis- 
pensation, is not to be a rest from labour or business, 
but only from sin. To such it is sufficient to reply, 
that every day of life ought to be a day of abstinence 
from all sin : and when it shall be shown that we are 
at liberty to indulge in sin six days out of seven, and 
then avoid it for one day only, it will be time enough 
to make a more serious and extended answer. 

But some persons of more seriousness ask, " Does 
not the apostle Paul, Rom. xiv. 5, 6, declare the ob- 
servance of days a matter of indifference?" He 
does ; but the context clearly shows that he speaks 
not of the weekly Sabbath, nor of any institution of 
the decalogue, but of matters besides the moral law. 
The same remark is substantially applicable to what 
he says in Gal. iv. 10, and in Col. ii. 16. 

Every law is to be known by its position and con- 



308 THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT. 



nection in a code. This is an invariable rule in in- 
terpreting every body of laws, and ought to be applied 
to the laws of God and the teaching of the apostles. 
When the whole connection of one of their arguments 
shows that they are simply endeavouring to wean 
their converts from Jewish ceremonies, it is most un- 
fair to extend their general remarks to institutions as 
old as the creation, and observed before the fall of 
man, and by all the pious after the fall, up to the 
giving of the ceremonial law, and then not reenacted 
as a part of the ceremonial law, but put in the middle 
of the moral law. " The handwriting of ordinances 
which was against us," is indeed "blotted out;" but 
that can never prove that the Sabbath, which is for 
us, is blotted out also. 

WHAT SHALL WE DO WITHOUT THE SABBATH? 

If no time be set apart by a competent authority 
for public worship, there will be no public worship. 
When Paul rebuked some of the early Christians, for 
" forsaking the assembling of themselves together," 
Heb. x. 25, it would have been ample justification for 
them to have replied, " No such thing is required, 
and no time is set for it." But we hear of no such 
plea. It never was made. There was as much 
agreement among the early Christians in observing 
the Lord's day as in observing the Lord's supper. It 
would be mere will-worship to observe the Lord's day, 
if it had not been appointed to be so observed by God 
himself. Is it credible that God should have left the 
whole church so ignorant of his will, that all believers 
for eighteen hundred years should have been mis- 
taken as to their duty in so important a matter as 



THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT. 



309 



this? The apostle James says, "He that keepeth 
the whole law, and yet offendeth in one point, is 
guilty of all." That he here means the moral law is 
evident, for he cites two of the precepts of it in the 
next verse: "Do not commit adultery," "Do not 
kill." James ii. 10, 11. Now, if you do not kill, or 
swear profanely, yet if you violate the fourth com- 
mandment, you are "become a transgressor of the 
law." Let those who indulge in Antinomian laxity 
concerning the law of the Sabbath, solemnly con- 
sider the course of reasoning adopted by James, and 
be warned in time. 

WHEN DOES THE SABBATH BEGIN? 

There is some diversity in the Christian world re- 
specting the time, at which the Sabbath begins. 
Some date it from sunset on Saturday till sunset on 
Sabbath. When asked for their authority, they refer 
to a phrase which occurs several times in the first 
chapter of Genesis : "And the evening and the morn- 
ing were the first day." This has not been con- 
sidered sufficient proof by the great mass of the 
Christian world. Nor ought it to be, as all the world 
knows that no day of creation began in the evening ; 
but all of them began in the morning. That saying 
of Moses therefore only declares that the day was 
made up of two parts, the after part, and the fore 
part. Indeed the evidence in the New Testament 
seems to be clearly against this view. " Our Sabbath 
begins where the Jewish Sabbath ended; but the 
Jewish Sabbath did not end towards the evening, but 
towards the morning. Matt, xxviii. 1. 4 In the end 
of the Sabbath, as it began to dawn towards the first 



310 



THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT. 



day of the week,' &c. In the New Testament, the 
evening following, and not going before this first day 
of the week, is called the evening of the first day. 
John xx. 19. 4 The same day, at evening, being the 
first day of the week,' &c. Our Sabbath is held in 
memory of Christ's resurrection, and it is certain 
that Christ rose early in the morning of the first 
day of the week." 

IS THIS PRECEPT MORAL? 

The correct answer is in the affirmative. 

1. All admit that the other precepts of this law are 
moral ; and this is in the very midst of the law. It 
would be very remarkable indeed if three preceding 
and six succeeding precepts were moral and this 
ceremonial. None but practical atheists will deny 
that God is to be worshipped ; that if he is to be 
worshipped, some time must be appropriated for 
that service; and that where this worship is to be 
public, it is convenient that the time be fixed and 
known. 

2. Nor is any reason given in the commandment 
for its own observance except such as is moral. The 
equity of the case, God's example and the blessing 
and hallowing of the day, are all moral considerations 
of the highest character. 

3. The law of the Sabbath was binding in Paradise, 
and has been binding ever since. As long as man is 
on earth, he needs the Sabbath, and the evidence of 
this necessity is found in both his moral and physical 
constitution. Blackstone: "The keeping one day in 
seven holy, as a time of relaxation and refreshment, 
as well as for public worship, is of admirable service 



THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT. 311 



to a state, considered merely as a civil institution. 
It humanizes, by the help of conversation and society, 
the manners of the lower classes ; which would other- 
wise degenerate into a sordid ferocity, and savage 
selfishness of spirit: it enables the industrious work- 
man to pursue his occupation in the ensuing week 
with health and cheerfulness : it imprints on the minds 
of the people that sense of their duty to God, so 
necessary to make them good citizens ; but which yet 
would be worn out and defaced by an unremitted con- 
tinuance of labour, without any stated times of re- 
calling them to the worship of their Maker." The 
example of the ancient nations would prove the same 
thing. Even the heathen who knew nothing of the 
Sinaitic covenant regarded every seventh day as holy. 
Hesiod, Homer, and Callimachus, speak of the seventh 
day as " holy." Theophilus of Antioch speaks of the 
seventh day as "The day which all mankind cele- 
brate." Porphyry says, "The Phenicians conse- 
crated one day in seven as holy." Linus says, "A 
seventh day is observed among saints, or holy peo- 
ple." Eusebius says, "Almost all the philosophers 
and poets acknowledge the seventh day as holy." 
Clemens Alexandrinus says, "The Greeks as well as 
the Hebrews observe the seventh day as holy." 
Josephus says, "No city of Greeks, or barbarians 
can be found, which does not acknowledge a seventh 
day's rest from labour." Philo says, "The seventh 
day is a festival to every nation." These and other 
[ testimonies may be seen in D wight's Theology, and 
i in many other writings. They go to show that the 
law of the Sabbath, like the law of marriage, was 
j known at the origin of the human family, and was not 



312 



THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT. 



derived from the Jews; and that there was an adapta- 
tion in it to the felt wants of our nature. Ussher : 
"The heathens had their knowledge of God and the 
Sabbath by tradition from the first fathers, which 
lived before the dispersion." It would be easy to fill 
pages with the testimonies of eminent physiologists as 
to the value of the Sabbath as a day of rest to the 
physical constitution of man, and of beasts of burden 
and of labour. Duncan says, "Neither men nor 
animals are capable of sustaining for any length of 
time the continual waste of uninterrupted toil. The 
rest of the Sabbath, while it does not diminish the 
productive amount of their labour, adds incalculably 
to their comfort and happiness." Another physiolo- 
gist says, " Of a single Sabbath spent in labour, with- 
out any great inconvenience or suffering, we can 
readily enough conceive; but we can have little idea 
of the degree in which uninterrupted, unrelaxing toil, 
going on from week to week, and from year to year, 
would be injurious and destructive to the health, and 
comfort, and life of multitudes of our fellow-crea- 
tures." In the French Revolution it was not 
proposed to abolish all days of rest. Every tenth 
day was reservedr for that purpose. And yet such 
was the waste of human life and the decay of 
human vigour during the time that this arrange- 
ment was carried out, that even irreligious men 
themselves acknowledged its dwarfing and injurious 
effects. 

4. If it is necessary to maintain the worship ap- 
pointed by God, it is necessary that we observe the 
fourth commandment. And if this law is not moral, 
why should we explain it and urge the practice of it 



THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT. 313 



upon all God's people, as has been done from the 
beginning of the world? 

5. It is a remarkable fact that when this law is 
clearly stated and ably defended, the human con- 
science gives as strong a response to its morality as 
to any other precept of the decalogue. Man feels 
and knows that God has a right to a reasonable por- 
tion of time for his own worship. So clear is this 
assent of the conscience that it is among the last 
things that wicked men find themselves able to do, to 
get rid of awful compunctions for trenching on sacred 
time. 

6. Both in temporal and spiritual matters, espe- 
cially in the latter, God has connected blessings with 
the observance, and curses with the breach of this 
commandment ; and that in a very remarkable man- 
ner. All over the world men have confessed as 
much. Many a criminal, about to suffer capital pun- 
ishment, has confessed that as long as he obeyed his 
conscience respecting the Lord's day, he was sensibly 
held in check as to other commandments. But that 
when he cast off the cords of the Almighty concerning 
sacred time, he was then prepared for almost any 
deed of darkness. It was a remarkable saying of 
Judge Hale, that of all persons convicted of capital 
crimes, while he was upon the bench, he found few 
who did not confess that they began their career of 
wickedness by neglect of the Sabbath. 

The good also have borne a like testimony to the 
blessing of God on their right observance of this pre- 
cept, and to the displeasure of the Almighty mani- 
fested against their infractions of its righteous re- 
quirements. One of the most remarkable men, that 
27 



314 THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT. 



his own or any other age has ever produced, was 
Sir Matthew Hale, chief-justice of England. He 
says, 

"I will acquaint you with a truth, that above forty 
years' experience, and strict observation of myself, 
hath assuredly taught me. I have been, near fifty 
years, a man as much conversant in business, and 
that of moment and importance, as most men ; and I 
assure you I was never under any inclination to 
fanaticism, enthusiasm, or superstition. 

"In all this time I have most industriously ob- 
served in myself, and in my concerns, these three 
things : 

" 1. Whenever I have undertaken any secular 
business on the Lord's day, which was not absolutely 
necessary, that business never prospered and suc- 
ceeded well with me. 

"2. Nay, if I had set myself that day but to fore- 
cast or design any temporal business, to be done or 
performed afterwards, though such forecasts were just 
and honest in themselves, and had as fair a prospect 
as could be expected, yet I have always been disap- 
pointed in the effecting of it, or in the success of it. 
So that it almost grew proverbial with me, when any 
importuned me to any secular business on that day, 
to answer them, that if they expected to succeed 
amiss, then they might desire my undertaking it upon 
that day. And this was so certain an observation 
with me, that I feared to think of any secular business 
on that day; because the resolution then taken would 
be disappointed, or unsuccessful. 

" 3. That always the more closely I applied my- 
self to the duties of the Lord's day, the more happy 



THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT. 



315 



and successful were my business and employments 
of the week following. So that I could, from the 
loose or strict observance of that day, take a just 
prospect and true calculation of my temporal success 
in the ensuing week. Though my hands and mind 
have been so full of secular business, both before and 
since I was a judge, yet 1 never wanted time in my 
six days to ripen and fit myself for the business and 
employments I had to do ; though I borrowed not one 
minute from the Lord's day to prepare for it, by study 
or otherwise. But on the other hand, if I had at any 
time borrowed from this day any time for my secular 
employments, I found that it did further me less than 
if I had left it alone; and therefore, when some years' 
experience, upon a most attentive and vigilant obser- 
vation, had given me this instruction, I grew peremp- 
torily resolved, never in this kind to make a breach 
on the Lord's day, which I have strictly observed for 
above thirty years. 

" This relation is most certainly and experimentally 
true, and hath been declared by me to hundreds of 
persons, as I now declare it unto you." 

All this is jDut the fulfilment of what is often de- 
clared in Holy Scripture, that it shall be well with 
the righteous, and ill with the wicked; that in the 
keeping God's commands there is great reward; and 
that none hath hardened himself against God and 
prospered. Compare Isa. lvi. 2-7, and lviii. 14. 

Nor is it necessary to explain these phenomena 
by a supposition of any miraculous interposition. 
He, who exhausts the vigour of his nature by over- 
work, must expect ere long, sensibly to feel the 
penalty. 



316 THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT. 

If by a moral law, therefore, is meant a law pro- 
viding for the necessities of our nature under all cir- 
cumstances, and enforcing its observance by penal 
consequences certainly felt by persons and communi- 
ties which disregard it, it is clear that the fourth com- 
mandment is moral. 

In further considering this commandment, it will 
be most convenient first to inquire, 

WHAT IT FORBIDS. 

1. It forbids all labour not required by necessity 
or mercy. The divine example, recorded in Gen. ii. 
2, 3, teaches as much. " And God rested on the 
seventh day from all his work which he had made." 
So also, in the very words of the fourth command- 
ment we are required to do " all our work" in six 
days, and are forbidden to do " any wo?°Jc" on the 
Sabbath. In Exodus xxiii. 12, God says, " Six days 
shalt thou do thy work, and on the seventh day thou 
shalt rest." And in Ex. xxxi. 15, "Six days may 
work be done ; but in the seventh is the Sabbath of 
rest, holy unto the Lord." So in Lev. xxiii. 3, "Six 
days shall work be done; but the seventh day is the 
Sabbath of rest, a holy convocation: ye shall do no 
work therein ; it is the Sabbath of the Lord in all your 
dwellings." And in Jer. xvii. 21, 22, "Bear no bur- 
den on the Sabbath-day, nor bring it in by the gates 
of Jerusalem ; neither carry forth a burden out of your 
houses on the Sabbath-day, neither do ye any work, 
but hallow ye the Sabbath-day." They disobeyed 
this command, and God was greatly displeased. Yet 
he mercifully renewed the same proposal, and promised 
them great and marvellous blessings if they would 



THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT. 



31T 



obey, and threatened the direst calamities if they 
would persist in profaning the Sabbath. Jer. xvii. 
23-27. These several commands are in plain words, 
are clearly expressed, are given by divine authority, 
in the most solemn language, and are subject to no 
exceptions but those of necessity and mercy, as God 
has himself laid down the law in Matt. xii. 1-13 ; 
Mark iii. 1-6 ; Luke vi. 6-11 ; Luke xiii. 10-17 ; 
Luke xiv. 1-6 ; and John v. 10-17. Although car- 
nal men will abuse the doctrine of necessity and 
mercy to defend their violations of the Sabbath-day, 
yet "the law is good if a man use it lawfully." 

Works of necessity are of two kinds — permanent, 
and occasional. Permanent works of necessity chiefly 
consist in preparing for the house of God, going to it, 
and returning from it. Occasional works of necessity 
arise from unusual events ; as the burning of a house, 
the inundation of a flood, or the destruction of a 
tempest. In either case the necesity should be real, 
and not feigned ; and should be such as previous care 
could not have avoided. 

Works of mercy are also permanent, or occasional. 
Permanent works of mercy, are such as the use of 
necessary and sufficient food and drink for ourselves, 
and the giving of them to our families, and to guests, 
and to brute animals. Occasional works of mercy, 
are such as the providence of God unexpectedly brings 
before us ; as dressing a wound, nursing the sick, and 
visiting the poor and afflicted, for the purpose of ad- 
ministering relief and comfort. 

We ought to be very careful that we do not neglect 
works of necessity and of mercy, which might be done 
by us during the secular days of the week, in order 
27 * 



318 



THE FOUBTH COMMANDMENT. 



that we may make a mere convenience of the Lord's 
day for doing things which ought to have been done 
before, although it would be wrong longer to omit 
them. How very sternly our Saviour rebuked those 
who would hinder others from doing good on the Sab- 
bath-day may be seen from his address to such a 
caviller, beginning, "Thou hypocrite." See the 
whole address in Luke xiii. 15-17. See also Matt, 
xii. 10-12. Also Mark iii. 4. 

2. Nor should the Lord's day be made a day of in- 
dulgence in sumptuous feasting. This sin seems to 
be pointed at in Ex. xvi. 23; in Ex. xxxv. 2, 3; and 
in Num. xv. 32-36. It is true, God has never com- 
manded that the Sabbath be a fast-day ; nor would it 
be proper so to observe it. But let us not run to the 
other extreme. This is important, because sumptuous 
feasting produces drowsiness in religious exercises ; 
because, as far as possible, servants should be re- 
lieved from labour, and have an opportunity of going 
to the house of God ; and because, in such feasts, we 
are too apt to seek the presence of others, who could 
better keep the Sabbath at home. 

3. God, who has promised that " while the earth 
remaineth, seed-time and harvest, and cold and heat, 
and summer and winter, and day and night, shall not 
cease," has expressly said, in Ex. xxxiv. 21, " Six 
days shalt thou work, but on the seventh day thou 
shalt rest : in earing time and in harvest thou shalt 
rest." Very diverse from this law is the practice of 
many. But if man and beast ever need refreshment 
from rest, is it not during seed-time and the excessive 
heat and labours of harvest ? It is also a solemn 
question, and may be pertinently pressed, Who hath 



THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT. 



319 



hardened himself against God, in violating this law, 
and prospered ? But even if apparent success has at- 
tended any man in profaning the Sabbath in seed- 
time or harvest, let him remember, that " the pros- 
perity of fools shall destroy them." 

4. It was a resolution of pious men, in the days of 
Nehemiah, that " if thepeopleof the landbringware or 
any victuals on the Sabbath-day to sell, they would 
not buy it of them on the Sabbath, or on the holy 
day." Neh. x. 31. The thirteenth chapter of Nehe- 
miah, from the fifteenth to the twenty-second verse, 
records the efforts of that resolute and pious man to 
enforce this solemn purpose. He did not regard it 
as a merely civil regulation, but says to the nobles of 
Judah, "What evil thing is this that ye do ? Ye 
bring more wrath upon Israel by profaning the Sab- 
bath." From these passages it is very evident, that 
the law of God forbids the opening of markets and 
shops, and the driving of bargains, on the Lord's 
day. 

o. The Scriptures, with equal explicitness, forbid 
travel upon the Sabbath-day. The exception is 
to what is known in the Scriptures as a Sabbath- 
day's journey. Acts i. 12. From very early times, it 
seems to have been regarded as proper to visit God's 
prophets at any time that men's distress required, 
even though it were upon the Sabbath-day. 2 Kings 
iv. 23. After the erection of synagogues in Palestine, 
the distance from a man's house to the nearest syna- 
gogue was his ordinary Sabbath-day's jonrney. 
With this exception, travelling was forbidden on the 
Sabbath. " Thy stranger that is within thy gates" 
is put down by name in the fourth commandment, 



320 



THE FOUETH COMMANDMENT. 



and is as much required to keep the Sabbath holy as 
any other person. So in Ex. xxiii. 12, "the stranger" 
is required to " rest," and the reason is given, that he 
" may be refreshed." Many and ingenious, but 
wicked are the pleas urged by men for disregarding 
the fourth commandment when on a journey ; but 
they are " refuges of lies," which will be swept away 
the moment man appears in the presence of God. 
This is a great sin in our nation. Its influence is 
vastly mischievous. The traveller is seen by many, 
and sins openly. He requires the services of those 
who conduct the public conveyances; or if travelling 
privately, he at least demands the services of keepers 
of public or private houses. The whole moral law, 
including the fourth commandment, was given from 
Sinai to a whole nation on a journey. 

6. The fourth commandment, like all the precepts 
of the decalogue, is spiritual, " and is a discerner of 
the thoughts and intents of the heart." It forbids 
us not only to do and to speak what we please on that 
day, but it binds our thoughts and hearts, and re- 
quires us to "delight" in its holy services. By the 
prophet Isaiah, lviii. 13, 14, God says, " If thou turn 
away thy foot from the Sabbath, from doing thy 
pleasure on my holy day ; and call the Sabbath a de- 
light, the holy of the Lord, honourable; and shalt 
honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding 
thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words: 
then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord ; and I 
will cause thee to ride on the high places of the earth, 
and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: 
for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it." 

D wight : " We may as easily and grossly profane 



THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT. 



321 



the Sabbath, so far as ourselves only are concerned, 
by thoughts which are unsuited to its nature, as we 
can by any actions whatever. If our minds are intent 
on our business or our pleasures ; if our affections 
wander after them ; if we are cold or lukewarm with 
respect to our religious duties ; if we are negligent of 
a serious and cordial attention to them ; if we regard 
with impatience the interruption occasioned to our 
secular concerns ; if we wish the institution had not 
been appointed, or that the time in which it is to be 
kept were lessened, then plainly we do not esteem 
i the Sabbath a delight,' nor abstain from finding our 
own pleasure. Every oblation from such a mind will 
be vain, and all its incense an abomination. The 
Sabbaths and the calling of assemblies among persons 
who act thus, will be such as God cannot away with ; 
and their solemn meeting will be iniquity. 

" The heart gives birth to all the movements of the 
tongue. We profane the Sabbath whenever we em- 
ploy the time in worldly conversation. Such conver- 
sation is, in the text, denoted by the phrase ' speak- 
ing thine own words.' There is no way in which the 
Sabbath is more easily, more insensibly, more fre- 
quently, and more fatally violated, than this. Temp- 
tations to it are always at hand. The transgression 
always seems a small one ; usually a doubtful one at 
the worst ; and often no transgression at all. 

" Multitudes of persons, beginning with religious 
subjects, slide imperceptibly towards those which are 
considered moral in such a degree as scarcely to differ 
from religious ones ; thence to secular themes border- 
ing on these ; and thence to mere matters of business 
or amusement. Such persons, before they are aware, 



322 THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT. 



find themselves conversing about the affairs of the 
neighbourhood, the strangers who were at church, the 
new dresses, fashions, business, diversions, news, and 
politics. To these they are led by mere worldly conver- 
sation concerning the prayers, the psalmody, or the 
sermon, as having been well or ill-devised, written, 
spoken, or performed ; by a history, merely secular, 
of the sickness and deaths in the neighbourhood or 
elsewhere, or of the dangerous or fatal accidents 
which have lately happened ; the weather, the seasons, 
the crops, the prospects, the affairs of the family, 
and by innumerable other things of a similar nature. 

" The next step is, ordinarily, an habitual employ- 
ment of this holy day in open, cool, and self-satisfied 
conversations about business, schemes of worldly pur- 
suits, bargains, gains, and losses. It is not to be 
understood that Christians go all these lengths. It 
is greatly to be feared, however, that they often go 
much farther than they can justify, and thus fail of 
their duty, and of the improvement, the usefulness, 
the hope, the joy, and the peace which they would 
otherwise attain. 

" The profanation of the Sabbath by actions is seen 
and conceded by all decent men who acknowledge it 
as a day consecrated by God to himself. The com- 
mon and favourite modes of profaning the Sabbath in 
this way, are spending our time in dress, in minister- 
ing to a luxurious appetite, in walking or riding for 
amusement, in writing letters of friendship, in secular 
visits, and in reading books which are not of a deci- 
dedly religious character. 

" The end of this progress is the .devotion of this 
sacred day to downright business, such as writing 



THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT. 



323 



letters of business, posting accounts, visiting post- 
offices, making bargains, transmitting money to cor- 
respondents, going or sending to markets, making 
journeys, at first with, and afterwards without pre- 
tences of necessity, and ultimately labouring openly 
in the ordinary employments of life. This is what is 
called in Scripture doing our own ways." 

Some have contended that the law of the Sabbath 
was considerably relaxed under the gospel. There is 
no such relaxation anywhere recorded. There is no 
evidence of its having been made. The reason why 
many hav^ supposed that this commandment was less 
rigorous tnan formerly, may be found in their misun- 
derstanding of Old Testament prohibitions respecting 
its violations. A right interpretation of the Old Testa- 
ment would show that in no case did God prohibit the 
preparation of food necessary for the nourishment of 
men's bodies, nor that his ancient people were for- 
bidden to do any work of necessity or mercy upon 
the Sabbath-day. They were not indeed allowed 
to gather the manna, to grind it in mills, to beat it 
in mortars, or bake it in pans upon that day ; because 
all that work could be previously done. Our Lord 
himself lived under the ancient law of the Sabbath ; 
and yet he did not hesitate to take a meal in the 
house of another man upon the Lord's day. Luke xiv. 
1. At the same time he vindicated kindness to brute 
animals ; much more, therefore, is real kindness to 
human beings pleasing to God. Stowell : a A very 
common error prevails respecting the strictness with 
which the Sabbath was observed under the Mosaic 
dispensation. We have no reason to suppose that its 
requirements were more rigid than they are now j 



324 THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT. 



though, being incorporated in the political laws, they 
were enforced by immediate and severe penalties." 

WHAT IT REQUIRES. 

There has perhaps been more difference of opinion 
respecting the requirements of this than of any other 
commandment. The human heart earnestly pleads 
for lawlessness. Men are much accustomed to yield 
to public opinion around them. The fear of being 
esteemed singular is a snare to thousands. He, who 
is not prepared to stand in a minority of one with a 
majority of millions against him, will not keep a good 
conscience respecting the Lord's day. It is clear 
that this commandment not only requires something, 
but that it requires it in a very urgent manner. This 
is expressed by the word Remember, the most solemn 
form of memento used in Scripture. By the same 
word Moses calls upon the Israelites never to forget 
their redemption from Egypt. Ex. xiii. 3. It is the 
strongest form of calling attention to a matter. Deut. 
xxiv. 9 ; Josh. i. 13. It is found in many parts of 
Scripture, as the word expressive of our wishes re- 
specting the divine providence over us, as when men 
ask God to remember them, where the prayer evidently 
is that God may have them in his thoughts and so in 
his holy keeping. Then we have another word, Re- 
member the Sabbath-day to keep it holy. This word 
expresses great vigilance, as of a guard over his 
prisoner ; as of a tiller of ground over his garden ; as 
of a shepherd over his flock. We must see to it that 
we do not let this commandment slip. In some of its 
forms the same word is often rendered beware and 
take heed. We are to remember the Sabbath-day be- 



THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT. 



325 



fore it arrives and prepare for it. "We are to remem- 
ber and keep it when it shall arrive. We are to re- 
member it when it is gone, and humble ourselves for 
the imperfect manner in which we have kept it. In 
looking into books of Moral Theology, written by- 
authors in the church of Rome, nothing strikes one 
more painfully than that this one day set apart by 
God to be observed to the end of time, is put on a 
level with other days appointed by mere human 
authority. Thus, the old sin is committed of " setting 
their threshold by my thresholds, and their post by 
my posts," and their days by the Lord's days. 
Ezek. xliii. 8. 

This command is as careful to render the observance 
of the Lord's day practicable, as it is to enjoin its 
observance at all. It says, " Six days shalt thou 
labour and do all thy work." Some have raised the 
point, whether this last clause is a command or a per- 
mission. It is not necessary to enter into that ques- 
tion. No human power can make it unlawful for men 
to pursue their industrial avocations during the six 
secular days. The New Testament plainly discou- 
rages the attempt to fill up the calendar with holidays. 
Gal. iv. 9-11; Col. ii. 16-23. Even days of fasting 
or thanksgiving are not holy days ; but they are a 
part of secular time voluntarily devoted to God's ser- 
vice. And if we are to perform these things at all, 
we must take some time for them. Yet none but 
God can sanctify a day so as to make it holy. The 
attempt to do this was one of the sins of Jeroboam. 
1 Kings xii. 33. If the clause, Six days shalt thou 
labour, is merely permissive, it is still enough for us. 
For who dare take away the liberty which God has 
28 



326 



THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT. 



here given us? Let us then consider particularly 
what it is for us to keep the Sabbath holy. It should 
be begun, and, as far as circumstances permit, occu- 
pied with the duties of devotion. These are either 
private or public, personal or social. 

I. THE PRIVATE DUTIES OF RELIGION. 

These are chiefly: 1. Devout reading of the Scrip- 
tures. 2. Prayer. 3. Praise. 4. Meditation. 5. Self- 
examination. Into each of these we should enter 
heartily. We should pour out our souls before him. 
We should give our minds free scope. We should 
rejoice in the opportunity to admire his glory and to 
think upon his name. If we have no heart for the 
secret duties appropriate to the Sabbath, it is proba- 

i ble we shall find it a burden on our minds, and its 
public duties a task. Coleman says that in early 
ages, "the several members of a Christian family 
were accustomed to rise very early in the morning, 
and address their thoughts to God by silent ejacula- 
tions, by calling to mind familiar passages of Scrip- 
ture, and by secret prayer." Basil the Great says, 
"One must arise before the twilight of the morning, 
to greet with prayer the coming day. . . Let the 
sun at his rising find us with the word of God in 
hand. . . . Let the day begin with prayer. . . Let 
the child be accustomed early in the morning to offer 

/prayer and praise to God." This is said indeed of 
every day. It is peculiarly appropriate to the Lord's 
day. 

II. THE SOCIAL DUTIES APPROPRIATE TO THIS DAY. 

Besides prayer, praise, and the study of God's 



THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT. 



327 



word, in which two or more may join, these consist 
very much in an interchange of pious sentiments and 
in edifying discourse. See Luke xxiv. 13, 15. If 
we are bound to have our speech seasoned with salt, 
that we may minister grace to the hearers at all 
times, much more at times by God himself set apart 
for our edification. 

III. FAMILY RELIGION. 

The prophet J eremiah puts prayerless families and 
the heathen in the same category. If God's wrath 
falls on the latter, it will certainly descend on the 
former. The language the prophet uses is truly 
startling: "Pour out thy fury upon the heathen 
that know thee not, and upon the families that call 
not on thy name." Jer. x. 25. Such families are 
truly heathenish in their dispositions and practices. 

Perhaps there never was a godly pastor, who did 
not feel that the cultivation of family religion was 
very important to the success of his ministry and to 
the progress of true piety ; and who did not regret the 
neglect of it as a sad injury to the cause of God. 
But what is the cultivation of family religion ? It 
consists, 1. In a devout reading, hearing, and study- 
ing of the Scriptures. The word of God is able to 
mate us wise unto salvation, and Timothy knew it 
from a child. We should acquaint ourselves and all 
our household with the sacred volume, because it is 
the word of God, because it is as fit to be read and 
spoken of in the family as anywhere else, and because 
we are specially commanded to teach all its truths to 
our children in the most familiar manner. 2 Tim. 
iii. 15; Deut. iv. 9; vi. 7; Ps. lxxviii. 4. 2. A 



328 



THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT. 



portion should be spent in praising God for his mer- 
cies. Where it can be done to edification, families 
should sing God's praises. If it is impossible to sing 
them, it is well even to read some sacred hymn. 

3. To these should be added prayer, including 
adoration, thanksgiving, confession, and supplication. 

4. Religious conversation guided and conducted by 
the head of the family, consisting of familiar explana- 
tions. This commandment also requires Scripture 
and catechetical instruction. In these endeavours to 
maintain domestic piety, all the family as far as pos- 
sible should unite. Some may be too young. Others 
may be sick; but none should be absent except for 
good cause. Servants should be kindly invited to 
unite with the rest of the family, and comfortable 
seats should be provided for all. What a blessed 
sight is that, when the pious head of a family, " with 
solemn air," says, "Let us worship God," and then 
devoutly reads the Bible, and sings the praises of 
the Most High. 

" Then kneeling down to heaven's eternal King, 
The saint, the father, and the husband prays; 
Hope springs exulting on triumphant wing, 
That thus they all shall meet in future days ; 
There ever hask in uncreated rays, 
No more to sigh or shed the bitter tear, 
Together hymning their Creator's praise, 
In such society, yet still more dear, 
While circling time moves round in an eternal sphere." 

Great care should be taken that this family religion 
should be attended to at the most fitting time ; and 
not at hours so early as to make it necessary for the 
members of a household to neglect their private de- 
votions in the morning, nor so late in the evening as 



THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT. 



329 



to render it certain that children and others will be 
drowsy, and of course, unedified. That this whole 
matter may be truly useful, family worship, and at- 
tention to family religion should be 1. Stated and 
regular. No light or trivial cause should be allowed 
to postpone or hinder it. 2. It should be decorous, 
orderly, quiet, and serious. If it fails in this re- 
spect, it can scarcely edify any one. All trifling 
behaviour should be carefully avoided. 3. It should 
be cheerful, and not austere and morose. God, who 
loves a cheerful giver, no less loves a cheerful wor- 
shipper. Every thing said and done should be suited 
to secure attention, and to awaken an interest in the 
service. 4. Therefore, tediousness should be avoided. 
A wise man regardeth both time and judgment. 
"Where exhaustion begins, edification ceases. It 
would often prevent weariness, if there was more 
variety in conducting Sabbath-day instruction and 
worship. Prayers, expositions, and remarks should 
be short and comprehensive. 5. But we should avoid 
both the appearance and reality of being hasty, and 
of attending to this matter as though we were de- 
sirous of finishing it as speedily as possible. 6. Family 
instruction and worship should take proper notice 
of family mercies and afflictions. Such are con- 
tinually occurring. But we should be very careful 
not to wound the feelings of even the youngest or 
most ignorant. It is seldom well to lecture one 
member of a family for personal faults in the pre- 
sence of others. 7. In this matter, widows, who are 
the heads of families, should remember that they are 
held responsible for the order and religious education 
of their households, even as if the family had never 
28* 



330 THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT. 



had another head. 8. It is sometimes asked, what 
should pious wives and mothers do, when the hus- 
band and father are absent ? The correct answer is, 
Take his place and see to it that God is honoured in 
the house. 9. But what shall wives and mothers do, 
when husbands and fathers, even when at home and 
well, decline to give proper religious instruction, and 
to conduct family worship? In answer, it may be 
stated that it is not the duty of the wife to assume 
the husband's place, and therefore she may not in 
his presence, with an air of authority over him, con- 
vene the family and give instruction. But though 
she is not the head of her husband, yet with him and 
under him she is the head of the rest of the family, 
and she ought to assemble her children and servants 
in some suitable apartment, and there teach them, and 
unite with them in suitable acts of devotion. This 
course has often been followed by the happiest con- 
sequences. 10. As the great object of all religious 
instruction and worship is to please God, and secure 
his blessing ; so let great care be taken, that what- 
ever is done, be sincere, humble, and fervent. A 
heartless form is idle; yea, it is worse. Be zealous, 
not cold. 

The following considerations show the propriety 
and obligation of family religion : 

I. The very heathen, who profess and practise any 
form of religion, do, without exception, maintain 
some form of domestic religion. Though they call 
not on the name of Jehovah, yet they call upon their 
gods, and teach their children to do the same. This 
certainly argues a strong presumption that family re- 
ligion is a dictate of nature. It is only in countries 



THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT. 331 



nominally Christian that we find men failing to culti- 
vate some form of devotion at home. The pre- 
sumption, therefore, would be fearful against any 
system, which should be found fit only for temples 
or churches, because it would fail to meet the serious 
convictions and wants of men. 

II. Xhe condition of every family calls for such 
instruction and devotion. We are very ignorant. 
Every appliance is necessary to diffuse light into our 
darkened understandings. Every family has wants, 
which should lead it to unite in prayer. Every 
family has mercies, which demand a united song. 
Every family has trials, where each should shed 
with the rest the tear of sympathy. Afflicted souls 
can find no better way to staunch their bleeding 
wounds than thus to unite in solemn acts of worship. 
Sometimes a household is threatened with some dire 
calamity. Then, what is more proper than united 
petitions to Him, who is Lord of all, to avert the 
dreaded evil ? 

III. The maintenance of domestic religion has a 
happy effect on the peace and order of families. If 
one is absent, or sick, or peculiarly afflicted, how it 
awakens and strengthens proper affection in the rest, 
to speak of that one, to utter words of kindness to 
him, and to pray for his return or deliverance ! How 
many little heart-burnings and jealousies are thus ex- 
tinguished ! How sweet is the sight, when old and 
young quietly and lovingly meet, and put away all 
else, that they may speak, and hear, and think, and 
pray, and praise before the Father of their spirits ! 
There can hardly be an unamiable, disobliging family, 
whose habit is to make common confession of sin, 



332 THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT. 



common acknowledgments of mercies, and common 
supplications for needed blessings, attended with the 
correct understanding of God's mind and will. They 
may lack much that the world calls courtliness. But 
of that politeness which consists in "real kindness, 
kindly expressed," such a family can hardly be desti- 
tute. There is real love there. Every act»of joint 
devotion strengthens it. Temptation may assail it. 
It may even be temporarily interrupted ; but it will 
seldom or never be destroyed. Such bonds as these 
are the ligaments of the whole social system. A good 
writer says, " That is the best system of economy, 
which as far as possible causes every family in an em- 
pire to be the most prosperous." Any thing, there- 
fore, which serves to promote the peace, order, thrift, 
and happiness of families, must be a great blessing 
to all their members. The best "normal school" 
in the world is a well-regulated family. There, 
the first lessons of government, law, literature, sci- 
ence, and religion are taught to purpose. A nation 
made up of such families can never be despicable. 
It is an alarming fact that during the nineteenth cen- 
tury, infidelity has directed its most formidable en- 
ginery against the family institution and against 
family religion. 

IV. The primitive church, and indeed every thriv- 
ing evangelical church has set us an example in this 
matter, which it cannot be safe to despise. Church 
history informs us that after their private devotions, 
the members of the family in primitive times met for 
united prayer, the reading of the Scriptures, the re- 
cital of doctrinal and practical sentiments and mutual 
edification generally. This indeed, to some extent, 



THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT. 



333 



was done every day. Each day was also closed by 
similar devotions. But the Lord's day abounded in 
them. 

V. This maintenance of family religion is eminently 
useful. It has nearly every advantage attending 
every possible method of teaching. It gives a little 
at a time and repeats it often. It is varied in its 
modes. It cuts up ignorance by the roots. Pri- 
deaux says, " The excessive ignorance I have met 
with in some, who offered themselves for holy orders, 
is to be attributed in a great measure to the neglect 
of family devotion. For, while religion remained in 
families, and God was daily worshipped, children 
were early bred up by their parents and instructed in 
the knowledge of him. And the principles of Chris- 
tianity thus instilled into them, continued to grow up 
with them into further knowledge, as themselves grew 
to be further capable of it. Thus young men carried 
some knowledge of religion with them to the univer- 
sities." 

VI. Family instruction and worship are of great 
importance in promoting pure and undefiled religion 
in the world. When Richard Baxter settled in Kid- 
derminster, there were but few devout families. Con- 
sequently, iniquity abounded. But as the spirit of 
religion revived, so did family worship, until at last, 
in some whole streets, not one family was found, 
where Grod was not honoured by even daily worship. 
The Rev. Thomas Scott, the Commentator, was very 
successful in leading his children and servants to 
Christ. He thus describes his general course with 
his family : " The grand secret of my success appears 
to have been this, that I always sought for my chil- 



334 THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT. 



dren as well as for myself, IN the FIRST place, the 

kingdom of God and his righteousness." He says, 
" he had not attempted a great deal in the way of 
talking directly to his children, and drawing them forth 
to talk upon religious subjects ; but much indirectly, by 
explaining the Scriptures, and by conversation in the 
family, especially by the improvement of passing 
events, of occurrences relating to their own conduct, 
and that of others, as the occasions of religious re- 
mark, teaching them to take a religious and Christian 
view of whatever took place." 

VII. Besides the solemn passage already cited 
from Jeremiah, other Scriptures show that pious men 
did not neglect family religion. Of Abraham, God 
said, " I know him, that he will command his children, 
and his household after him, and they shall keep the 
way of the Lord, to do justice and judgment." Gen. 
xviii. 19. Joshua said, "As for me and my house, 
we will serve the Lord." Josh. xxiv. 15. David 
says, " I will behave myself wisely in a perfect way. 
When wilt thou come unto me ? I will walk within 
my house with a perfect heart." Ps. ci. 2. Solomon 
says, " The curse of the Lord is in the house of the 
wicked: but he blesseth the habitation of the just." 
Prov. iii. 33. See also Acts x. 2, and all those pas- 
sages of Scripture which speak of praying always, 
praying always with all prayer and supplication, pray- 
ing every where, praying without ceasing, &c. 

Let family religion be maintained in all its 
purity and power, cost what it may; but this 
has never been done where families have slight- 
ED the holy sabbath. Stowell : " It may be seri- 
ously questioned whether any one duty is so lament- 



THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT. 



335 



ably neglected among all classes of professing Chris- 
tians, as the domestic observance of the Sabbath." 

IV. THE PUBLIC WORSHIP OF GOD. 

"How amiable are thy tabernacles, 0 Lord of hosts ! 
A day in thy courts is better than a thousand. I 
had rather be a door-keeper in the house of my God 
than to dwell in the tents of wickedness." Such are 
some of the exclamations of the Psalmist respecting 
the public worship of God. How well they express 
the sentiments of God's true people has been testified 
in every age. It is, therefore, a great mercy that 
God has not only given us permission but made it 
obligatory upon us to frequent his sanctuary. No 
man has ever been the loser by complying with the 
scriptural ordinances of public worship. Lev. xxv. 20- 
22. It is an act of atrocious wrong to deny to God 
the service or the time which he claims as his due. 
" It is a snare to the man who devoureth that which is 
holy." Prov. xx. 25. "Will a man rob God? Yet 
ye have robbed me. But ye say, "Wherein have we 
robbed thee ? In tithes and offerings. Ye are cursed 
with a curse : for ye have robbed me, even this 
whole nation." Mai. iii. 8, 9. Prophecy requires 
that in the most glorious times of the gospel solemn 
worship shall be maintained from one Sabbath to 
another. Isa. lxvi. 23. Our Saviour's example teaches 
the same thing. Luke iv. 16. The people of Mace- 
donia, to whom the gospel brought countless blessings, 
were stated and devout worshippers. Acts xvi. 13-15. 
The apostles all lived in perilous times. It often cost 
a man his life to be known as a worshipper of the true 
God and of Jesus Christ our Lord. Yet Paul, writing 



336 



THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT. 



to the Hebrews, says, " Let us consider one another 
to provoke unto love and to good works : not for- 
saking the assembling of ourselves together, as the 
manner of some is ; but exhorting one another : and 
so much the more as ye see the day approaching." 
Heb. x. 24, 25. Indeed, there never was a prosper- 
ous church that did not continue steadfastly in the 
apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of 
bread and in prayers. Acts ii. 42. They who separate 
themselves from the assembly of God's people are 
commonly sensual, having not the Spirit^ Jude 19. 

It therefore seems clear from Scripture and from 
the nature of the case, that one of the duties we owe 
on the Sabbath-day, is " a diligent and conscientious 
attendance upon all the ordinances of God and the 
duties of his worship, appointed to be performed on 
this day." 

Which duty of public worship could we safely 
neglect? Shall it be prayer? Public prayer is a 
great nourisher of secret devotion. To united prayer, 
special promises are made. " If two of you shall 
agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall 
ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is 
in heaven. For where two or three are gathered to- 
gether in my name, there am I in the midst of them," 
Matt, xviii. 19, 20. Shall we give up the public 
preaching and hearing of God's word ? How can 
we ? True, the preaching of the cross is to them that 
perish foolishness ; but to all that believe, it is the 
power of God, 1 Cor. i. 18. Yea, it pleased God by 
the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe, 
1 Cor. i. 21. Where was there ever a pious minister, 
filled with the spirit of his office, yet perhaps sorely 



THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT. 337 

tried and cruelly persecuted, who did not yet say with 
Paul and his eo-adjutors, " Now thanks be unto God, 
which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and 
maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us 
in every place ?" 2 Cor. ii. 14. True, if the Son of 
man were to come, he would probably find but little 
faith on the earth. But of whatever there is, it may 
be truly said, " Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing 
by the word of God," Rom. x. 17. 

Shall we give up the public praises of Jehovah ? 
In this degenerate world he is forgotten, despised, re- 
viled, blasphemed. If he has any friends, shall they 
keep silence ? Shall they not rather show forth his praise 
all the day long ? If our Sabbath is a type of heaven, 
and much of the work of heaven is praise, shall we 
not get our organs in tune and in training for uniting 
in the hosannas and hallelujahs of the upper sanctu- 
ary ? It is chiefly after a day thus fitly spent in the 
private, family and public worship of God, that good 
men are able to say with Philip Henry, " If this is 
not heaven upon earth, surely it is the road to a hea- 
ven above." Similar remarks may be made respect- 
ing the due celebration of the sacraments of God's 
house. It is one of the evidences of the low state of 
piety in the Christian world that so many professors 
and churches are satisfied with annual, semi-annual, 
or quarterly communions. Perhaps there never was 
a revived state of piety in which there was not a de- 
sire awakened for increased frequency in the celebra- 
tion of The Supper. 

TO WHOM IS THIS COMMAND ADDRESSED ? 



The answer is, To all who have authority ; to the 

29 



338 



THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT. 



magistrate, who holds the gates of the city ; to the 
parents, who hold the gate of the house ; to the prin- 
cipal of the literary institution, who holds the gate of 
the seminary; to the military chieftain, who holds 
the gates of the camp ; to each man who holds the 
gates of his own heart ; in short, to all and in partic- 
ular to those, whose word controls the actions of others. 
" In it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, 
nor thy daughter, thy man-servant, nor thy maid-ser- 
vant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy 
gates." 

GENERAL REMARKS. 

I. Some make conscience of rising earlier than 
usual ; while others sleep later on the Lord's day than 
is their custom. What is our duty in this matter ? 
It is certain that edification either in public or private 
devotion ceases when languor prevails. Drowsiness 
is very apt to overtake a labouring population, when 
they repair to the house of God, and are quietly 
seated. It is a shame to see our churches filled with 
sleepers. From Psa. xcii. 2, some have urged that 
we should rise earlier than usual on Sabbath morning. 
Surely the Lord's day was not made for the indul- 
gence of indolence. The right course to be pursued 
seems to be this : let all persons retire rather earlier 
than usual to rest on Saturday night. Let them get 
sufficient sleep, and then awake at the ordinary hour 
and enter on the service of God. To those who in- 
dulge their drowsiness in the house of God, we might 
make a parody on the words of the Apostle : " What ! 
have ye not beds to sleep in, or despise ye the church 
of God ? What shall I say to you ? Shall I praise 
you in this ? I praise you not." 



THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT. 



339 



II. In this no less than in all the other precepts, 
love is the fulfilling of the law. He, who has no 
heart or relish for the appropriate exercises of this 
day, can never remember the Sabbath-day so as to 
keep it holy. All the characteristics of worship de- 
scribed in considering the second commandment, must 
enter into the services of the Lord's day. 

III. Many able writers and more pious persons 
have remarked on the dreadful plagues, which God 
has often made to attend on the violation of holy 
time. Boston's last remark on the Fourth Command- 
ment is this, "Many begin with the sin of profaning 
the Lord's day, and it brings them at length to an ill 
hour, both in this world and that which is to come." 
Calvin : " The Lord is hardly so strict in his requisi- 
tions of obedience to any other precept. (Num. xiii. 
22 ; Ezek. xx. 12, xxii. 8, xxiii. 38.) When he means 
to intimate, in the prophets, that religion is totally 
subverted, he complains that his Sabbaths are pollu- 
ted, violated, neglected and profaned, Jer. xvii. 21, 
22, 2T; Isa. lvi. 2." Durham says, "No breach of 
any command hath more aggravations ; for 1. It is 
against reason and equity. ... 2. It is high in- 
gratitude. . 3. It is against love. . . 4. It is cru- 
elty against ourselves." . He adds, "that no sin doth 
more evidence universal untenderness and that it oc- 
casion eth and breedeth other sins." Indeed many 
writers do not hesitate to say that breaches of this 
commandment are generally to be regarded as more 
aggravated than breaches of the subsequent com- 
mandments ; inasmuch as violations of them are pri- 
marily directed against man, and violations of this 
are directed against God himself. Stowell : "No 



340 



THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT. 



terms are strong enough to express the impiety of 
that man, whatever be his creed or his connexions, 
who wilfully absents himself from the public solemni- 
ties of the Sabbath." 

IY. What shall those do who have not decent ap- 
parel for visiting the house of God ? Shall they 
wholly stay away from public worship, or shall they 
be urged to attend in their rags ? The correct answer 
seems to be this. Let the rich help the poor. Let 
them in a delicate way provide for them suitable ap- 
parel. But if this cannot be done, let the poor man 
reason thus : " Shall I stay away from a place of 
worship because my clothes are old, and worn, and 
patched ? But do I go there to be looked at by others, 
to mind what others think and say ? My business is 
with God ; and if I bring with me a broken and con- 
trite heart, no matter what my dress, God will not 
despise my sacrifice. Ps. li. 17." 

V. Let us endeavour to cultivate more love for the 
sanctuary. It is a great reproach to the Christian 
religion that so many of its professors are for slight 
reasons detained from the house of God. Rather let 
us say with one, " Thither let me go, with willing 
feet, on the morning and evening of every Sabbath ; 
thither a sense of guilt should urge me ; thither the 
hope of mercy should draw me ; there God the Father 
waits to be gracious ; there God the Son exhibits his 
atoning blood, and God the Holy Ghost his sanctify- 
ing grace. With so much sin to confess, with so many 
mercies to acknowledge, with such darkness in my 
mind, and such hardness in my heart, how can I ab- 
sent myself from the Lord's house on the Lord's day ! 
There a crucified Saviour holds forth wisdom to the 



THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT. 



341 



ignorant, strength to the weak, comfort to the broken- 
hearted, pardon to the penitent, and salvation to the 
lost." 

VI. Let us in a right spirit and in Christian fidelity 
reprove the profanation of the Lord's day. Even 
Sabbath-breakers often have consciences, capable of 
being roused, when faithfully warned. 

VII. We should frequently remember that holy 
time will soon be gone for ever. Well may each one 
say, " Who can tell whether more Sabbaths are re- 
served for me in this world? Perhaps the next may 
be my last, and I may never again hear the glad 
tidings of salvation through Jesus Christ. And shall 
I then dare to stay away from public worship, with 
death and judgment at hand, with heaven or hell be- 
fore me? Shall I let some trifling excuse, which I 
should be ashamed to make to any earthly friend, de- 
prive me of the only remaining opportunity of meet- 
ing God in his own house ? Oh what would many a 
soul give, one hour after death, for the Sabbaths and 
sermons that are now so slighted?" Two things will 
probably have a keener edge in wounding the lost 
soul than all others. One will be the recollection of 
Christ rejected ; the other will be, the remembrance 
of time, especially holy time misspent. 

VIII. The Sabbath is, and in Scripture is made to 
be a type of the glorious rest of the people of God in 
heaven. If men do not relish the type, it is proof 
positive that they are not prepared for the antitype. 
Let us all diligently ask for grace to prepare us for 
the ' employments, the society and worship of that 
Sabbath which remains for the people of god.' 

Thus we have considered the first commandment, 
29* 



342 



THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT. 



which requires us to worship the true God and him 
alone ; the second commandment which prescribes how 
that worship shall be offered ; the third commandment, 
calling for reverence in the heart and in the manner 
of worship ; and the fourth commandment, which 
designates the time to be appropriated to God's ser- 
vice. Thus we conclude the first table of the law. 



THE SECOND TABLE OF THE LAW. 



343 



CHAPTER XVIII. 
THE SECOND TABLE OF THE LAW. 

THE sum of the last six commandments is by our 
Lord given in these few words : " Thou shalt love 
thy neighbour as thyself." Matt. xxii. 39. He says 
of the second table of the law that "it is like unto 
the first." It is like unto it in these things : that it 
proceeds from the same divine authority ; that in 
order to the fulfilling of it, we must have genuine 
love ; that it is very comprehensive, involving many 
duties ; that it requires our utmost care and vigilance 
to avoid transgression ; that if we have a right spirit 
towards God, we shall not practise wickedness to- 
wards man ; that the scope and aim of both are 
purity; that he who requires holiness in the church 
no less requires it "in the market, in the shop, at 
home, abroad ; not only in prayer but at the plough." 
The law would have been an imperfect rule for the 
government of human beings, existing in society, if 
it had not as clearly taught us our duty to man 
as our duty to God. Domat : " Man's first law 
is the spirit of his religion. . . . This implies a 
second law which obliges men to unity among them- 
selves, and to the love of one another." It was particu- 



344 



THE SECOND TABLE OE THE LAW. 



larly necessary that we should have the second 
table, in order to avoid that fatal mistake made by 
many, that if we are strict in our conduct towards 
God, we may be lax in our demeanour towards 
men. 

At the very beginning of a revelation of true re- 
ligion, God would have us to understand that genuine 
piety will surely manifest itself towards those around 
us. And in all the Scriptures God " hath showed thee, 
0 man, what is good ; and what doth the Lord require 
of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to 
walk humbly with thy God?" Micah vi. 8. If men 
"keep the way of the Lord," they will be sure to do 
justice and judgment. Gen. xviii. 19. No possible devo- 
tion to prescribed forms of religious worship is ever 
pleasing to the Almighty, or can save a people from 
ruin, unless they learn " to seek judgment, relieve the 
oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow." 
Isa. i. 17. Indeed, when God would save a backslid- 
den church from utter extinction, he says, " These 
are the things that ye shall do ; Speak ye every man 
the truth to his neighbour ; execute the judgment of 
truth and peace in your gates : and let none of you 
imagine evil in your hearts against his neighbour ; and 
love no false oath : for all these are things that I hate, 
saith the Lord." Zech. viii. 16. In like manner does 
God instruct us by the pen of Paul. Rom. xiii. 8-10. 

The second table contains six precepts, beginning 
with the fifth commandment, which points out the 
duties of our stations in society ; the sixth command- 
ment is a bulwark around human life ; the seventh is 
God's protection to chastity and domestic peace ; the 
eighth warns all evil doers against infractions of 



THE SECOND TABLE OF THE LAW. 



345 



rights of property ; the ninth is God's law respecting 
the good name of man ; and the tenth is the key- 
stone to this arch of morals, covering every thing 
that involves the temporal good of our fellow- 
men. 

We have an excellent help in the study of the 
second table. It is given us by our Lord himself. 
It is simple, easily remembered and easily applied to all 
the diversified cares that arise in intercourse between 
men : " Therefore all things whatsoever ye would 
that men should do unto you, do ye even so to them : 
for this is the law and the prophets." Matt. vii. 12. 
Another evangelist gives it in still fewer words. 
" As ye would that men should do to you, do ye also 
to them likewise." Luke vi. 31. There is no possi- 
ble situation in which men can be placed in their 
dealings with each other, where, if the heart be honest, 
this rule will not furnish a sufficient guide to our con- 
duct. True indeed, no man will rightly use even this 
plain maxim, unless he has learned the meaning of 
Paul, when he says, "Look not every man on his own 
things, but every man also on the things of others." 
Phil. ii. 4. 

The second table of the law is well sustained by 
many parts of Scripture, in showing that the will of 
God is that man's earthly existence should be social 
and not secluded. The Author of our existence 
brings us into this world in a state of entire depend- 
ence on our fellow-creatures, and this dependence lasts 
longer in the case of man than of any other crea- 
ture. Like dependence often recurs in old age. Nor 
can the perfection of man's nature in any sense be 
attained in absolute solitude. Hare : " Were we all 



346 THE SECOND TABLE OF THE LAW. 



so many hermits, made to live each by himself, 
having no ties or dealings with other men, the first 
table of the law would perhaps have been sufficient ; 
as in that case, man would have owed no duties, 
except to God only. God, however, did not form men 
to live alone, but to live in society." 



THE FIFTH COMMANDMENT. 



347 



CHAPTER XIX. 



THE FIFTH COMMANDMENT. 



Honour thy father and thy mother : that 
thy days may be long upon the land which the 
lord thy god gtveth thee. 

IN Deut. v. 16, tins commandment is given thus : 
"Honour thy father and thy mother, as the 
Lord thy God hath commanded thee; that thy days 
may be prolonged, and that it may go well with thee, 
in the land which the Lord thy Grod giveth thee." 
The substance of this command is also given in the 
opposite form in the chapter next succeeding that 
which contains the moral law. "He that curseth his 
father or his mother shall surely be put to death." 
Ex. xxi. 17. Again: "Every one that curseth his 
father or his mother shall surely be put to death: he 
hath cursed his father or his mother ; his blood shall 
be upon him." Levit. xx. 9. Jesus Christ unites 
these two forms of the commandment, when he ex- 
plains it and rescues it from the glosses of the scribes 
and Pharisees. Matt. xv. 4-6. The apostle thus re- 
fers to this commandment: "Honour thy father and 
mother ; which is the first commandment with promise ; 
that it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live 
long on the earth." Eph. vi. 2, 3. When he says 




348 



THE FIFTH COMMANDMENT. 



this "is the first commandment," the meaning pro- 
bably is, it is the first commandment of the second 
table, or that it is the first commandment that has a 
particular promise annexed to it; for there is a 
general promise of a very comprehensive nature an- 
nexed to the second commandment. 

The general design of this precept is to regulate 
our conduct in the several vocations of life. The 
foundation of all the social relations is that of husband 
and wife. But this subject will naturally come up, 
when we consider the seventh commandment, and is 
for the present passed over. 

The next relation is that of parent and child. The 
word father is used in the Scriptures to express the 
relation between God and his creatures. He is the 
Father of spirits. We are his offspring. Heb. xii. 9; 
Acts xvii. 28, 29. In him we live, and move, and 
have our being. God is our Father in a sense higher 
than is any other being. And as in the first table, 
God fitly provides for due honour to himself, it is by 
an easy transition that he provides for due honour to 
our parents. Stowell: "In the care and interest, 
the tenderness and authority of the parent, we behold 
a faint image of the superintendence, compassion, and 
government of God." Some have misconstrued the 
teachings of our Saviour, when he taught us to " call 
no man father." The whole passage reads thus: 
"Be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master, 
even Christ; and all ye are brethren. And call no 
man your father upon the earth; for one is your 
Father, which is in heaven. Neither be ye called 
masters : for one is your Master, even Christ. But 
he that is greatest among you, shall be your servant. 



THE FIFTH COMMANDMENT. 



349 



And whosoever shall exalt himself, shall be abased ; 
and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted." 
Matt, xxiii. 8-12. From this it is evident that what 
our Saviour forbade was assuming dominion over the 
faith of others, or allowing others to assume dominion 
over our faith. 

The word father may be taken in several senses : 
1. As the teacher or inventor of any art. Jabal was 
the father of such as dwell in tents; and Jubal the 
father of all such as handle the harp or organ. Gen. 
iv. 20, 21. 2. Sometimes it is a mere term of civil 
respect, as when Naaman's servants said, " My 
father," &c. 2 Kings v. 13. 3. Again, it designates 
persons who are our superiors in age, or experience, 
if The elders intreat as fathers, and the elder women 
as mothers." 1 Tim. v. 1, 2. 4. Again, it is the title 
of a wise and influential counsellor. Joseph says, 
"God hath made me a father to Pharaoh." Gen. xlv. 
8. 5. It describes the relation between converts and 
those honoured of God as the means of their salva- 
tion. Paul says, "Though ye have ten thousand in- 
structors in Christ, yet have ye not many fathers : 
for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the 
gospel." 1 Cor. iv. 15. 6. A respectful term for a 
religious teacher. Thus Elisha addressed Elijah, 
"My father, my father, the chariots of Israel and the 
horsemen thereof." 2 Kings ii. 12. 7. A respectful 
title given in many nations to the chief magistrate. 
There was a line of kings in Philistia, called Abi- 
melech, which word signifies, The King, my Father, 
For many centuries the king of France was styled 
Sire, &c. ; and 8, the fathers of our flesh, Heb. xii. 9 ; 
the instruments of our earthly existence. 



850 



THE FIFTH COMMANDMENT. 



In the fifth commandment, the father being the 
head of the wife is named first. But that no slight 
was thereby intended to be put upon the female 
parent is evident from other Scriptures. "Ye shall 
fear every man his mother and his father, and keep 
my Sabbaths: I am the Lord your God." Lev. xix. 
3. No child, however great or good, ever repaid a 
mother's love, a mother's care, and a mother's sorrow, 
manifested during all the trials of child-bearing, and 
child-rearing, and child-caring. Hare : " For a 
mother's heart is not like the heart of an animal, 
which, when its young have ceased to suck, drops 
them out of its memory. The human heart is of 
more lasting stuff. . . The mother, the good mother 
at least, will go on caring for her children, long, long 
after they have become men and women. Let them 
be men and women to others : to her they will always 
be children." 

Let us then consider, 

I. THE DUTIES OF PARENTS TO CHILDREN. 

1. One duty of parents to children is suitably to 
provide for them when young and helpless. Nature 
teaches this duty. God's word enjoins it. Matt. vii. 
9, 10; 2 Cor. xii. 14; 1 Tim. v. 8. 

2. Another duty is to protect them. They are ■ 
feeble. They are liable to wrong and injury. 
Reason suggests that the strong defend the weak. 

3. Another duty generally confessed is to secure to 
them an education suitable to their talents and cir- 
cumstances ; that they may not enter upon the offices 
of life wholly unprepared for their stations, and thus 
find themselves most awkwardly situated. The secu- 



THE FIFTH COMMANDMENT. 



351 



lar education of children is in many ways important. 
This includes good manners, 1 Pet. iii. 8, industry, Prov. 
xxxi. 27, and humility of deportment, Prov. xiv. 3. 

4. But their religious and moral training is of so 
great value as that ruin, temporal and eternal, is 
likely to follow the neglect of it. In a religious edu- 
cation the first thing to be done is to teach children. 
In teaching, the matter and manner both claim atten- 
tion. He, who takes heed what but not how he 
teaches, or how but not what he teaches, does at the 
most but half his duty. Teach truth, and not its sem- 
blance, fiction. Teach truth, and not its opposite, 
error. Teach the truths God has taught you. Teach 
the whole word of God. The law is holy, just, and 
good. The promises are many, sweet, and faithful. 
The doctrines are true, sublime, and purifying. The 
threatenings are wise, righteous, and terrible. The 
examples are striking, various, and instructive. The 
encouragements are great, necessary, and seasonable. 
The invitations are kind, sincere, and persuasive. 
Omit nothing, abate nothing, add nothing. God's 
word is perfect. He, who made the Bible, made the 
mind of your child, and knew perfectly what would 
be best for it. 

Teach things in the proportion in which God has 
taught them. If God is just and holy, he is also 
good and merciful. If he forgives iniquity, trans- 
gression, and sin, he will also by no means clear the 
guilty. If his wrath is dreadful, his love is infinite. 
If he is a Saviour, he is also a Judge. If he is a 
Sovereign, he is also a Father. If he pardons, it is 
not because sin is not infinitely hateful to him. 

Give clear ideas of the covenant of works, and the 



352 



THE FIFTH COMMANDMENT. 



covenant of grace. Show how they differ. Never 
confound works and grace. Let Mount Sinai and 
Mount Calvary be set over against each other. Sinai 
without Calvary will fill the mind with terrors. Cal- 
vary without Sinai will breed contempt of mercy. 
The angels, who never sinned, are accepted for their 
works. " Do and live," is a law that suits them well. 
But eternal justice will smite to death the sinner who 
seeks acceptance by his own merits. He is a thief 
and a robber. " By the deeds of the law shall no 
flesh be justified." 

Give to the person, teaching, miracles, sufferings, 
death, resurrection, offices, and glory of Christ the 
place assigned them in Scripture. He is our wisdom, 
righteousness, sanctification, redemption, light, life, 
prophet, priest, king, shepherd, surety, sacrifice, advo- 
cate. We are complete in him. He is all, and in 
all. He is Alpha and Omega, the first and the 
last. | 

Draw from the Bible the duties you inculcate, and 
the motives you urge. If you would repress self-will, 
stubbornness, immodesty, impatience, idleness, pride, 
deceit, selfishness, bigotry, cruelty, profaneness, or 
any vice, show that God forbids it. Always take 
sides with God against the sins and vices of even your 
own child. Explain the nature and urge the neces- 
sity of submission, patience, industry, humility, so- 
briety, moderation, truth, candour, honesty, justice, 
kindness, charity, faith, hope, repentance, fidelity, 
benevolence, respect for superiors, and reverence for 
God's name, word, Sabbath, worship, and ordinances. 
Take not the duty from the Bible, and the motives 
from Chesterfield, Rochefaucault, Seneca, or Plato. 



THE FIFTH COMMANDMENT. 



353 



Present scriptural motives to an upright and virtuous 
life. 

Think not to be wise above what is written : but 
try to be wise, and to make your children wise up to 
what is written. "All Scripture is given by inspira- 
tion of God, and is profitable." Mix it not up with 
dreams and fancies, and loose opinions. "What is 
the chaff to the wheat?" 

In teaching, great diligence is essential. So says 
God : " These words, which I command thee this day, 
shall be in thine heart ; and thou shalt teach them 
diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them 
when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou 
walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and 
when thou risest up. And thou shalt bind them for 
a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets 
between thine eyes. And thou shalt write them upon 
the posts of thy house, and on thy gates." Deut. vi. 
6-9. "Be instant in season, out of season." The 
holy Sabbath, sickness or death in your family or 
neighbourhood, a narrow escape from some great 
evil, a time of drought or of plenty, any event that 
excites notice, even the common incidents of life, 
furnish fit occasions for dropping the precious seeds 
of truth in the heart. Occasional remarks are 
no less impressive than stated instructions. They 
are often more pithy, and more easily remem- 
bered. 

Take not too much for granted. Children are 
feeble and heedless. A little at a time, and often re- 
peated, is the great secret of successful teaching. 
" Line upon line, line upon line, precept upon precept, 
precept upon precept," is the scriptural method. 
GO * 



354 



THE FIFTH COMMANDMENT. 



Though you may have taught a lesson twenty 
times, it is not certain that it has been perfectly 
learned. 

Avail yourself of the love of narrative, so common 
in children. God has revealed much of his will in 
this way. The stories and parables of Scripture are 
not only admirable for their plainness and simplicity, 
but they enforce truth with unsurpassed power. Al- 
most every principle of religion and morals is thus 
illustrated and enforced in the word of God. 

A good teacher must be gentle and patient. It is 
hardly worse not to speak divine truth at all, than 
not to speak it in love. Teach the same lesson a 
hundredth time. Upbraid not a child for its dulness. 
Be like Jesus, who said : " Learn of me, for I am 
meek and lowly." Terror produces agitation, and 
thus precludes the power of learning. Nor can any 
thing be more undesirable than to have religious- in- 
struction associated in the mind of a child with mo- 
roseness and harshness. The human heart is suffi- 
ciently opposed to the truth of God without our 
strengthening it by roughness or severity. 

Do not be easily discouraged. Persevere. He 
has seen but little of mankind, who has not witnessed 
the sad failures of the precocious, and the final suc- 
cess of the slow. " Long patience" is even more 
essential to the teacher than to the husbandman. 
Let both parents heartily unite in this work. King 
Lemuel has given us the prophecy that his mother 
taught him. Prov. xxxi. 

Enter with spirit and zeal on the work of instruc- 
tion. Put off all languor and sloth. " Whatsoever 
thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might." A 



THE FIFTH COMMANDMENT. 



355 



lifeless formalism is as truly mischievous at the fire- 
side as in the pulpit. 

To your own efforts add those of well-selected pious 
teachers, both during the week and on the Sabbath. 
Every school, even every Sabbath-school, is not well 
taught. Exercise your best judgment in the choice 
of teachers. 

Know what books your children read. The world 
is deluged with books, which abound in error. Guard 
the minds of your children against a fondness for 
novel-reading. It has ruined thousands. 

Hopkins : " The instruction of children must not 
be nice and critical, but familiar and obvious ; teach- 
ing them such fundamental truths and principles of 
Christian doctrine, as are of absolute necessity to be 
known, and in such a manner as may be most suitable 
to their capacity and discretion. 

5. Another duty of parents to their children is that 
of governing them. The elements of good family 
government are strength, justice, discrimination, uni- 
formity, and love. Act not the tyrant, yet be mas- 
ter or mistress of your own house. In your superior 
years, place, experience, and vigour, God has given 
you all that is necessary for making your government 
strong. Let it be a government, and not mere coun- 
sel. But let its provisions and administration be 
just. A child can feel injustice as soon and as keenly 
as a man. Impose no impossible tasks. Take into 
account all the weaknesses of childhood. In govern- 
ing your children make a difference, not from parti- 
ality, but from a proper estimate of their various 
capacities, years, dispositions, and temptations. The 
varieties of character even in the same family are 



356 



THE FIFTH COMMANDMENT. 



often surprising. Yet be uniform. Be not lax to- 
day and rigid to-morrow. Have settled principles, 
and let your children know them. Yet beware of 
making too many laws. They will not only ensnare 
your children, but destroy your government. Chil- 
dren may be governed too much. Do not expect per- 
fection. In all you do, be guided by enlightened and 
pure affection. Never chide, nor correct in passion. 
If you cannot rule your own spirit, you may break 
the spirit of your child, but you cannot establish a 
wholesome government over him. 

That we are bound to use authority is manifest 
from many parts of Scripture. Of Abraham, God 
says: "I know him that he will command his chil- 
dren and his household after him, and they shall keep 
the way of the Lord, to do justice and judgment." 
Behold the dreadful end of the sons of Eli, and be 
warned. He was a good man, hated sin even in his 
own children, and reproved it, saying : "It is no 
good thing I hear of you, my sons." But he used 
not authority, as their father and as the high-priest, 
to require reformation. Follow not so dangerous an 
example. 

With reproof God has united the rod. When it is 
necessary, use it. It commonly is necessary in cases 
of wilful and deliberate disobedience. " Foolishness 
is bound up in the heart of a child, but the rod of 
correction shall drive it far from him." Hopkins : 
" This severity is to be used betimes, before age and 
spirit have hardened them against the fear or smart 
of correction. The wise man hath told us, ' He that 
spareth the rod hateth his son : but he that loveth 
him chasteneth him betimes,' Prov. xiii. 24 ; see also 



THE FIFTH COMMANDMENT. 



357 



Prov. xxiii. 13, 14." Never use the rod to gratify a 
feeling of anger, nor without being sure that it is de- 
served. I have somewhere read the following storj, 
which well illustrates the matter. Two stages, be- 
longing to opposite lines, left the same place at the 
same hour every day for London. Both drivers had 
orders to make the distance in the shortest time pos- 
sible. One driver mounted the box, with whip in 
hand, was excited, spoke angrily to his horses, and alter- 
nately relaxed and jerked the reins, at the same time 
using his whip freely. In a few miles his horses gave 
signs of distress, and before he reached London some 
of his team were usually broken down. The other 
driver coolly took his seat, spoke gently to his horses, 
held a steady rein all the time, and seldom even 
cracked his whip. He was often hindmost for a few 
miles, but while the horses of the other team were in 
a foam, hardly a hair of his horses was moist. The 
last few miles, his team not being jaded, he took the 
lead, and seldom even distressed a horse. The rea- 
son of the difference was, not that one driver had a 
better team than the other ; but one was a better dri- 
ver than the other. One held a steady rein,and never 
used the whip unless it was necessary. The other con- 
stantly used the whip, fretted his team, and wasted 
both their spirit and strength. 

Who has not seen this precise difference in the 
government of families ? The first driver would have 
done as well, perhaps better, without a whip. And 
many a family would not have been in a worse state, 
if a rod had never been in it. Family government is 
always a failure when it does not secure prompt obe- 
dience and sincere affection from the child to the parent. 



358 



THE FIFTH COMMANDMENT. 



Parents should be agreed in the government of 
their children. If they do not support each other's 
authority, it must fall. A divided house cannot stand. 
Nor should they permit grand-parents, aunts, or any 
person whatever to weaken their authority. 

Hare : "I am aware, this strict and ready obe- 
dience, which does every thing it is bid, as soon as it 
is bid, without asking why or wherefore, — this un- 
questioning obedience, I am aware, is rather out of 
date. But God's words are still true, and God's com- 
mandments are still good and reasonable, whatever 
the world, which is at enmity with God, may think or 
say. . . . There is the same difference between a 
father and son, a mother and daughter, as between a 
person who knows a road and one who does not." 
" Hear, ye children, the instruction of a father ; for 
I give you good doctrine ;" " Hear, 0 my son, and 
receive my sayings, for I have taught thee in the way 
of wisdom ; I have led thee in right paths. When thou 
runnest,thoushalt notstumble," Prov. iv. 1, 10, 11, 12. 
How different would have been the history of Reho- 
boam, had he duly obeyed this counsel of his father 
Solomon. There is a race of people said still to be 
found on the earth in thrift and honour, who are men- 
tioned in history more than 2500 years ago, upon 
whom a blessing was then pronounced by the Almighty 
in these words: "Because ye have obeyed the com- 
mandment of Jonadab, your father, and kept all his 
precepts, and done according to all that he hath com- 
manded you ; therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts, 
Jonadab, the son of Rechab, shall not want a man to 
stand before me forever," Jer. xxxv. 18, 19. "Train 
up a child in the way he should go." Hare : " Train 



THE FIFTH COMMANDMENT. 



359 



him up in obedience to his parents, while a child, in 
order that he may be less unwilling to obey his hea- 
venly Father when he becomes a man, 4 It is good 
for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth,' (Lam. 
iii. 27.) But what yoke ? First, The yoke of obe- 
dience ; Secondly, The yoke of self-denial ; Thirdly, 
The yoke of the cross, which is the sign and token 
of humility." 

But beware of so conducting the government of 
children as to dishearten them. " Ye fathers, pro- 
voke not your children to wrath, lest they be discour- 
aged," Eph. vi. 4 ; Col. iii. 21. David set a noble 
example of encouragement to his son, 1 Chron. xxviii. 
20. Let the parent allure as well as command. 

6. Parents should so walk before their children 
as that they may safely follow in their footsteps. 
Set a good example in all things. " Tinder is not 
more apt to take fire, nor wax the impression of the 
seal, than the young are to follow example." If your 
child may in his heart say : " Physician, heal thyself," 
your influence for good in that matter is at an end, at 
least until you reform. He, who delivers good pre- 
cepts, sows good seed. He, who adds good example, 
ploughs in that seed. Children are the most imita- 
tive creatures in the world. The different species of 
ape excite the laughter of fools by their powers of 
mimicry, but children excite the admiration of wise 
men by their powers of imitation. Quintilian rightly 
says that nurses should not have a bad accent. The 
reason is that children will soon acquire it. And Dr. 
Watts well says, "It is far less difficult to learn than 
to unlearn." In his Ode to the Romans, Horace 
gays: " Brave men are made by brave men." Nor 



360 



THE FIFTH COMMANDMENT. 



is there any other way of making men brave. Pre- 
cept, eloquence, and poetry cannot do it. Cowards 
breed cowards. The same is true of all the virtues 
and vices. 

The power of good examples above bare precepts 
is threefold ; first, they most clearly show what the 
duty is ; then, they prove that it is practicable ; and 
lastly, they awaken a more lively desire to perform it, 
by arousing the imitative principle of our nature. I 
have known two men, by precept and authority, with- 
out example, to try to restrain their sons from intem- 
perance and profanity. They both failed. I have 
known many a parent, whose precepts were few, and 
whose use of the rod was sparing, to raise a family to 
virtue and honour chiefly by a blameless example. It 
is as true of parents as of preachers, that a bad ex- 
ample will destroy the good that might be expected 
from sound instruction. " Do as I say and not as I 
do," is a sentence that converts the best teaching into 
poison, and dreadfully hardens the heart. Precepts 
give the theory, but example instils principle. Words 
impart notions, but example carries conviction. One 
plain man, of blameless life and good sense, will more 
enforce the obligations of true piety than a hundred 
orators of godless lives. A heathen once gave as a 
reason for his guarded behaviour in the presence of 
the young, "I reverence a child." If you deceive 
your child, break your promises to him, or practise 
any sin before him, you cannot fail to teach him to 
do the same. 

7. But as he that soweth is nothing, and he that 
watereth is nothing, even though he be a tender and 
judicious parent, we should always look to God in 



THE FIFTH COMMANDMENT. 



361 



humble prayer for his blessing. " Pray always with 
all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, watching 
thereunto with all perseverance." "Pray without 
ceasing." Pray in the house of God, in your family, 
in your closet, in your daily walks. Ask others to 
pray for you and your children. This should not be 
a mere formal, but an earnest request. You need 
special wisdom and grace to preserve you from error, 
and sin, and folly. The heart of your child is cor- 
rupt, and all your culture will be lost without God's 
blessing. You cannot change the heart, renew the 
will, or wash away the sins of your child. God 
alone can impart to him a love of the truth, or give 
him repentance. You may use your best endea- 
vours, but all will be in vain without God's Spirit. 
Sails are necessary, but a thousand yards of can- 
vas will not carry forward a vessel, unless the wind 
blows. 

Be fervent in your supplications. Monica, the 
mother of Augustine, said she " had greater travail 
and pain that her son might be born again, than that 
he might be born." God answered her prayers, and 
that too, at a time when he seemed to be utterly lost. 
John Newton tells of a mother of eleven pious chil- 
dren, who being asked how she came to be so much 
blessed, said, "I never took one of them into my 
arms to give it nourishment, that I did not pray that 
I might never nurse a child for the devil." It is as true 
now as in any former age of the world, that " the ef- 
fectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth 
much." Never despair of the salvation of a child. 
While there is life, there is hope. Wrestle with God 
like Jacob, and you shall prevail like Israel. Never 
31 



362 THE FIFTH COMMANDMENT. 

by unbelief deliver over a child to sin, and to the 
wrath of God. Pray on. Hope on. 

For the encouragement of all who are charged with 
the religious education of the young, let these pro- 
mises of the covenant of peace be well considered : 
" I will be a God to thee and to thy seed after thee." 
" The promise is to you and to your children." " Suf- 
fer little children to come unto me, and forbid them 
not, for of such is the kingdom of God." " Train 
up a child in the way he should go, and when he is 
old he will not depart from it." More precious pro- 
mises could not be made. Believe them. Plead 
them before God. Richard Baxter has said, that if 
pious education, family worship, parental instruction, 
and a holy example were properly regarded by pa- 
rents, even the 'preaching of the gospel would not be 
the most common means of conversion. The best en- 
couragement to effort is found in the hope of success. 
In this case that hope is well-founded. God's word 
and providence both prove it. The great mass of the 
pious now on earth is made up of those who from 
childhood have been taught the ways of God. Many 
foolish things have no doubt been said concerning 
the religious impressions of children. Yet there have 
been many well-authenticated cases of early piety. 
Our children cannot too soon begin to live to the glory 
of God. He who is old enough to sin against God, 
is old enough to love God. Whether your children 
shall be early or late converted, yet if they shall ob- 
tain salvation at all, they will be kings and priests 
unto God for ever and ever. Does a sweeter hope 
ever visit the parental mind than that of standing be- 
fore God in the last day, and saying : " Behold, I 



THE FIFTH COMMANDMENT. 



363 



and the children, whom the Lord hath given me?" 
" A whole family in heaven" will for ever be matter 
of greater wonder and louder praise, than can be 
found in all the works disclosed by microscopes and 
telescopes in the boundless dominions of God. 

But if you neglect the religious education of your 
children, dreadful will be the consequences. "A 
shild left to himself bringeth his mother to shame." 
Parental love is often blind and foolish. 

" A parent's heart may prove a snare ; 
The child she loves so well, 
Her hand may lead with gentlest care, 
Down the smooth road to hell." 

Trust not your heart. Trust God's word. Give 
not place to evil tempers and ways in yourself or 
your child. It is not many years since a young lady 
thus addressed her parents : " You have been the un- 
happy instruments of my being. You fostered me in 
pride, and led me in the paths of sin. You never 
once warned me of my danger, and now it is too late. 
In a few hours you will have to cover me with earth, 
but remember, while you are casting earth upon my 
body, my soul will be in hell, and yourselves the mis- 
erable cause." If you would escape the scourges 
of a guilty conscience, the reproaches of a lost 
child, and the rebukes of an angry God, do your 
duty to your children. Only when the heart of the 
fathers is turned to their children, and the heart of the 
children to their fathers, may we hope that God will 
not come and smite the earth with a curse. As a 
town without walls, as a house without a roof, as a 
garden without a hedge, and as sheep without a shep- 



364 THE FIFTH COMMANDMENT. 

herd, so is a family, whose thoughts and affairs are 
not moulded by the fear and love of God. 

II. THE DUTIES OF CHILDREN TO PARENTS. 

These are many, weighty and of great importance. 
They are summed up in the word Honour. This 
word is well chosen. It contains the sum of the duty 
here required. The same word is found in Prov. iii. 
9. " Honour the Lord with thy substance, &c." It is 
often rendered glorify. Isa. xxiv. 15. " Glorify ye 
the Lord, &c." God himself uses the word in 1 Sam. 
ii. 30. " Them that honour me, will I honour." 
D wight : " The word honour is chosen with supreme 
felicity ; as being sufficiently comprehensive, and suf- 
ficiently definite, to express with as much exactness 
as can easily be compassed, all the several branches 
of duty which parents can equitably demand of their 
children." Pool : " The word honour doth not only 
note the reverence, love, and obedience we owe them, 
but also support and maintenance, as appears from 
Matt. xv. 4-6, and from a like signification of that 
word, 1 Tim. v. 3, 17." 

1. One duty of children to parents is sincere, strong, 
unwavering love. To be " without natural affection" 
makes either parent or child a monster of depravity. 
Eom. i. 31. "What a beautiful instance of filial love 
we have in Joseph, even when he was well-advanced in 
years. His venerable parent was coming to him ; 
indeed had arrived in Goshen. " And Joseph made 
ready his chariot and went up to meet Israel his 
father, to Goshen, and presented himself unto him; and 
he fell on his neck, and wept on his neck a good while." 



THE FIFTH COMMANDMENT. 



365 



Gen. xlvi. 29. Love is no less the fulfilling of the 
fifth commandment than of any other. 

2. Another duty of children to parents is to give 
them filial fear. Heb. xii. 9. This is not inconsistent 
with love. Because the child is affectionate, he is de- 
voted. Because he is filled with awe, he is free from 
unbecoming familiarity. There is no substitute for 
this kind of filial regard. Mai. i. 6 ; Prov. xxxi. 28. 
This kind of reverence Solomon manifested to his 
mother. 1 Kings ii. 19. It was a good resolution of 
Jonathan Edwards of Northampton, " Never to allow 
the least measure of any fretting or uneasiness at my 
father or mother. Resolved, To suffer no effects of 
it, so much as in the least alteration of speech, or 
motion of my eye, and to be especially careful of it 
with respect to any of our family." This is quite in 
accordance with holy Scripture. " He that curseth 
his father or his mother shall surely be put to 
" death;" "He that curseth his father or his mother, 
his lamp shall be put out in obscure darkness;" 
"The eye that mocketh at his father, and despiseth to 
obey his mother, the ravens of the valley shall pick it 
out, and the young eagles shall eat it." Ex. xxi. 17, 
Prov. xx. 20, xxx. 17. With what great delight does 
a rightly ordered mind review the account of the 
reverence with which Joseph treated Jacob, when 
he went to see that venerable man. Joseph was 
then actually the wisest and most powerful man on 
earth; and yet when he approached his father, "he 
bowed himself with his face to the earth." Gen. xlviii. 
12. Where parents are wrong and show vile tempers, 
the speech of their children towards them should be 
mild and gentle, even in using the language of re- 
31* 



366 THE FIFTH COMMANDMENT. 

monstrance. Thus said Jonathan to Saul : M Let not 
the king sin against his servant, against David ; for he 
did put his life in his hand, and slew the Philistine." 
1 Sam. xix. 4, 5. This reverence to parents should 
be sincere, uniform, profound. It should not indeed be 
servile, nor tormenting ; but it should be full of sweet 
submission and of obliging dispositions. However 
worthless or wicked a parent may be, this duty still 
binds. One natural effect of reverence is docility. 
If parents are bound to give instruction, children are 
bound to receive it. "My son, hear the instruction 
of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy 
mother." 

3. Out of love and fear naturally grows obedience, 
which should be prompt, cheerful and universal, unless 
the parent requires the child to do something wicked. 
" My son, keep thy father's commandment, and for- 
sake not the law of thy mother: bind them con- 
tinually upon thine heart, and tie them about thy neck." 
Prov. vi. 20, 22. See also, Prov. xiii. 1, and xxiii. 
22. " Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this 
is right." Eph. vi. 1. " Children, obey your parents, 
in all things: for this is well-pleasing unto the Lord." 
Col. iii. 20. No expectation of future eminence, 
no consciousness of present superiority in attainments 
can exempt us from this obligation. Two examples 
of Scripture delightfully settle this question. One is 
that of David, who after displaying amazing prowess, 
was yet entirely submissive to the authority of Jesse. 
1 Sam. xvi. 11. The other is that of the Blessed 
Master himself, of whom we have this short but com- 
prehensive record ; that "he went down with his father 
and mother, and came to Nazareth, and was subject 



THE FIFTH COMMANDMENT. 



367 



unto them." Luke ii. 51. Let all children who are 
tempted to disobedience, or even to the slightest dis- 
respect to either parent, remember the case of Canaan. 
Gen. ix. 25. It is true that the kind of obedience 
due to parents differs according to the age of the 
child. At first, it is implicit, and rests entirely upon 
the authority of the parent. Young children must 
obey without reserve or examination. A s children 
advance in years, it is reasonable that they should 
understand the grounds of many things required of 
them. In due time, by the law of their nature and of 
Scripture, ordinarily God sets them also in families, 
when it is agreeable to the divine will that a man should 
leave his father and mother and cleave to his wife. 
Gen. ii. 24 ; Matt. xix. 5 ; Mark x. 7. Yet there 
can never come a time when the child may cease to 
honour the parent, in every way expressing love and 
esteem, and especially by yielding to all his reason- 
able commands. There have been cases and may be 
again, where parents require of their children to lie, 
to steal, to commit trespass and even to murder. In 
all such cases, children may not obey, because it is 
directly counter to the supreme will of God. 

4. Another duty of children is to contribute as cir- 
cumstances demand, and as their parents require, to 
their temporal support and comfort. The law on this 
subject is explicit. " If any widow have children or 
nephews, let them learn first to show piety at home 
and to requite their parents : for that is good and 
acceptable before God." 1 Tim. v. 4. See also Ruth 
iv. 15. Indeed that alarming statement in 1 Tim. v. 
8, is brought out to enforce the duty of lineal and 
collateral descendants to provide for their helpless or 



368 



THE FIFTH COMMANDMENT. 



dependent relatives. In nothing did those corrupt 
creatures, the Scribes and Pharisees, more grossly 
misinterpret God's will than in regard to the fifth 
commandment. Our Saviour said to them, " Why do 
ye transgress the commandment of God by your tradi- 
tion ? for God commanded, saying, Honour thy father 
and mother : and, he that curseth father or mother, 
let him die the death. But ye say, Whosoever shall 
say to his father or his mother, It is a gift, by what- 
soever thou mightest be profited by me ; and honour 
not his father or his mother, he shall be free. Thus 
have ye made the commandment of God of no effect 
by your tradition." Matt. xv. 3-6. The tradition of 
these false teachers seems to have been in almost all 
respects wrong. They appear to have held that a 
sacrifice offered in the temple was of such great value 
as to relieve children from the duty of showing piety 
at home ; and that if we would say of any thing, it 
was devoted to religious uses, that cut off all claim of 
parents to assistance. But all this was mere hypocrisy. 
Joseph set a good example in this respect. Gen. xlvii. 
12. Our Lord himself in the agony of crucifixion did 
not fail to show filial piety to his aged mother, now 
probably a widow. John xix. 27. 

It is also especially obligatory upon children well 
to consider and closely to follow the right counsel and 
worthy example of their parents. It is mentioned to 
the everlasting honour of Jehoshaphat that "he 
walked in the first ways of his father David, and 
sought not unto Baalim ; but sought to the LORD God 
of his father, and walked in his commandments, and 
not after the doings of Israel." 2 Chron. xvii. 3, 4. 

Let us now consider, 



THE FIFTH COMMANDMENT. 



369 



III. THE PROMISE ANNEXED. 

Although the promise annexed to this command- 
ment has reference more or less to the right perform- 
ance of all relative duties, yet it has special applica- 
tion to dutiful children. It is in these words: "that 
thj days may be long upon the land which the Lord 
thy God giveth thee." In Deut. v. 16, it is, "that 
thy days may be prolonged, and that it may go well 
with thee in the land which the Lord thy God giveth 
thee." It is either to this latter form of the promise, 
or to the Septuagint translation of Ex. xx. 12, or to 
both of them, that Paul alludes in citing this promise 
in Eph. vi. 3. The literal rendering of the Hebrew 
is, that they may prolong thy days, or cause thy days 
to be prolonged. If we follow this rendering, then the 
meaning is either that the commandments when rightly 
observed will prolong the days of dutiful children; or 
that their father and mother whom they honour will 
by their prayers, and protection, and example, be 
the means of lengthening their lives. So Diodati: 
"That they (the parents) may be instruments, and a 
means of it, by their blessing, and that this good may 
befal thee from God for their sakes." Pool: " That 
thy days may be long, Hebrew, that they, i. e., thy 
parents may prolong thy days, or the days of thy life, 
to wit, instrumentally, by their prayers made to God 
for thee, and by their blessing in my name conferred 
upon thee ; though the active verb is commonly taken 
impersonally, as Job vii. 3; Prov. ix. 11; Luke xii. 
10; and so it may be here, they prolong for be pro- 
longed.'' 

What then is the meaning of this promise? 



370 



THE FIFTH COMMANDMENT. 



Bidgley says, " there are three things which tend to 
make a long life happy. 1. Experience of growth 
in grace, in proportion to our advance in age, accord- 
ing to that promise, 6 They shall bring forth fruit in 
old age; they shall be fat and flourishing.' Ps. xcii. 
14. 2. When we retain our natural abilities, and 
that strength and vigour of mind, which we have 
formerly had. This some are deprived of, through 
the infirmities of age ; whereby they may be said to 
outlive themselves. It was a peculiar blessing, which 
God granted to Moses ; concerning whom it is said, 
that he was an hundred and twenty years old when 
he died ; and yet his eye was not dim, nor his natural 
force abated. Deut. xxxiv. 7. 3. Old age is a bless- 
ing, when our usefulness to others, in our day and 
generation, is continued. Thus Joshua died an old 
man; but it was a peculiar blessing that he was useful 
to the end. Josh. xxiv. 25, 29." Henry: "Those 
who, in conscience towards God, keep this and the 
rest of God's commandments, may be sure that it 
shall be well with them, and that they shall live as 
long on earth as Infinite Wisdom sees good for them, 
and that what they may seem to be cut short of on 
earth shall be abundantly made up in eternal life, 
the heavenly Canaan which God will give them." 
Doddridge: " These words express the peculiar care 
of the divine providence for the continuance and com- 
fort of the lives of those who should observe this pre- 
cept, the benefit of which those children might 
generally expect, who were dutiful to their parents." 
Scott: "The annexed promise of long life to obedient 
children, might have a peculiar reference to the 
covenant of Israel; yet careful observers of mankind 



THE FIFTH COMMANDMENT. 



371 



have noted its remarkable fulfilment in other nations. 
Subordination in the family and community tends to 
personal and public felicity; and the dislike, which 
the human heart bears to submission, renders it proper 
to enforce it by motives of every kind." Calvin: 
"The meaning is, Honour thy father and thy mother, 
that through the space of a long life, thou mayest 
enjoy the possession of the land, which will be to thee 
a testimony of my favour." "The hoary-head is a 
crown of glory if it be found in the way of righteous- 
ness." Prov. xvi. 31. Compare Lev. xix. 32; 1 John 
ii. 13. 

It is evident from the interpretation of this pro- 
mise given in providence that it is of a general, and 
not of a universal nature. The land of Canaan was 
a type of the heavenly blessing. " Grod has linked our 
duty and our interest together, so as there is no 
separating of them." The author wishes here to 
record his testimony. During a life neither short nor 
uneventful he has mingled much with mankind. In 
that time he has seen many children forego their own 
gratification and apparent interest for the sake of 
parents, not always amiable, sometimes intemperate. 
Yet he has in no case seen such children losers in the 
end. A blessing has followed them. 

The relation of master and servant is recognized in 
the most ancient writings. In some form it will pro- 
bably last to the end of the world. Let us consider, 

IV. THE DUTIES OF MASTERS. 

It is clear that heads of families ought to be ex- 
ceedingly careful in the selection of their servants. 



372 THE FIFTH COMMANDMENT. 



It was a good resolution of David, "I will walk 
within my house with a perfect heart: I will not 
know a wicked person. Whoso privily slandereth his 
neighbour, him will I cut off : him that hath an high 
look and a proud heart will not I suffer. Mine eyes 
shall be upon the faithful of the land, that they may 
dwell with me : he that walketh in a perfect way, he 
shall serve me. He that worketh deceit shall not 
dwell within my house : he that telleth lies shall not 
tarry in my sight." Ps. ci. On many accounts we 
should be careful in the selection of servants. 1. The 
thing is right. 2. Our own peace, quiet, and comfort 
greatly depend upon the conduct of those who serve us. 

3. We owe it to our children not to bring them into 
habitual association with those who would corrupt them. 

4. We owe it to our other servants, not to subject 
them to the annoyance and bad influence of those who 
are vicious. 5. It is a great blessing to have good 
servants, even as " the Lord blessed the Egyptian's 
house for Joseph's sake ; and the blessing of the Lord 
was upon all that he had in the house, and in the 
field." Gen. xxxix. 5. One evil-disposed person can 
keep an establishment in an uproar, and make it diffi- 
cult for even the right-minded to maintain a proper 
course of behaviour. 

2. Another duty of masters is government. This 
should be uniform, firm, and gentle, never rash, in- 
constant nor tyrannical. It is a great error in some 
masters that they totally lack dignity. If they have 
a good servant, they rest not until they are on such 
terms of familiarity as breed contempt. The com- 
mands of masters should be reasonable. They should 
require no impossible service. Masters may never 



THE FIFTH COMMANDMENT. 



373 



command that which is sinful. In that case no dis- 
cretion is left to servants, but to obey God. Acts iv. 
19, v. 29. Nor should commands be vexatious. The 
tone and language of command should be clear and 
firm, not accompanied with bluster or threatening. 
So says Paul: "Ye masters, do the same things to 
your servants, forbearing threatening: knowing that 
your Master also is in heaven ; neither is there respect 
of persons with him." Eph. vi. 9. And yet masters 
should command and not merely request. It subverts 
the entire order of society when servants bear rule. 
" For three things the earth is disquieted, and for 
four which it cannot bear: for a servant when he 
reign eth ; and a fool when he is filled with meat ; for 
an odious woman when she is married; and an hand- 
maid that is heir to her mistress." Prov. xxx. 21-23. 
"Delight is not seemly for a fool; much less for a 
servant to have rule over princes." Prov. xix. 10. 

The authority of masters is to be enforced first, by 
moral considerations drawn from Scripture ; secondly, 
by the wholesome laws of the land ; and thirdly, by 
the power which in many cases he has over his ser- 
vants, which often extends as far as his power over 
his own children. " There is a servant who will not 
be corrected by words, for although he understand 
he will not answer." Prov. xxix. 19. But great care 
should be taken that the government of masters should 
not be harsh or severe. So said God, "Thou shalt 
not rule over him with rigour, but shalt fear thy God." 
Lev. xxv. 43. 

3. Another duty of masters is making suitable pro- 
vision for their servants. " Masters, give unto your 
servants that which is just and equal ; knowing that 
32 



374 



THE FIFTH COMMANDMENT. 



ye also have a Master in heaven." Col. iv. % Where 
the servant is a hireling, his reward should be given 
him promptly. " The wages of him that is hired shall 
not abide all night with thee until the morning." Lev. 
xix. 13. Compare Deut. xxiv. 14, 15, James v. 4. 
The compensation allowed should be fair and reason- 
able. Mai. iii. 5. There ought to be constant care on 
the part of masters to secure the comfort and consult 
the best interests of those who serve them. They 
should lack for no necessary thing. It was a great 
shame in that Amalekite to leave his servant when he 
fell sick. He seems to have wholly neglected his 
wants, for he gave him neither bread nor water, nor 
figs, nor raisins. 1 Sam. xxx. 11-13. 

4. Masters should also be slow to take up an ill 
report against their servants. Prov. xxix. 12 ; xxx. 10. 

5. Masters should also be kind and liberal even be- 
yond what they promised, or beyond what is customary, 
when they have old and faithful servants. Prov. 
xiv. 35. 

6. According to their relations, masters are bound 
to make the best provision they can for the religious 
improvement, comfort and instruction of their ser- 
vants. Gen. xviii. 19. 

Difficult as is the relation of master, yet good men 
may sustain it. 1 Tim. vi. 2. Abraham, the father 
of the faithful, Job, and persons mentioned in the 
New Testament seem to have performed their duties 
in this relation as conscientiously as in any other. 
Matt. viii. 5-8 ; Luke vii. 2-9. 

How great a matter it will be to all masters, if in 
the day of sore trial and still more of eternal judg- 
ment, they shall be able as Job to quote their inno^ 



THE FIFTH COMMANDMENT. 



375 



cence respecting their dealings with their servants. 
Job xxxi. 13-15. 

V. THE DUTIES OF SERVANTS. 

The New Testament very clearly states the duties 
of servants. Thus says Paul : " Servants, be obedient 
to them that are your masters, according to the flesh, 
with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, 
as unto Christ ; not with eye-service, as men pleasers, 
but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God 
from the heart ; with good will doing service as to the 
Lord, and not unto men ; knowing that whatsoever good 
thing any man doeth, the same shall he receive of the 
Lord, whether he be bond or free." Eph. vi. 5-9. So 
again : " Servants, obey in all things your masters, 
according to the flesh ; not with eye-service, as men- 
pleas ers, but in singleness of heart, fearing God ; and 
whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and 
not unto men ; knowing that of the Lord ye shall re- 
ceive the reward of the inheritance : for ye serve the 
Lord Christ. But he that doeth wrong, shall receive 
for the wrong which he hath done ; and there is no 
respect of persons." Col. iii. 22-25. Again: "Let 
as many servants as are under the yoke count their 
own masters worthy of all honour, that the name of 
God and his doctrine be not blasphemed. And they 
that have believing masters, let them not despise them 
because they are brethren ; but rather do them ser- 
vice, because they are faithful and beloved, partakers 
of the benefit. These things teach and exhort. If 
any man teach otherwise, and consent not to whole- 
some words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, 
and to the doctrine which is according to godliness, 



376 



THE FIFTH COMMANDMENT. 



he is proud, knowing nothing, but doting about ques- 
tions and strife of words, whereof cometh envy, 
strife, railings, evil surmisings, perverse disputings 
of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, 
supposing that gain is godliness : from such withdraw 
thyself." 1 Tim. vi. 1-5. Again: "Exhort servants 
to be obedient unto their own masters, and to please 
them well in all things ; not answering again ; not 
purloining, but showing all good fidelity ; that they 
may adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all 
things. " Titus ii. 9, 10. With Paul fully concurs 
Peter: "Servants, be subject to your masters 
with all fear ; not only to the good and gentle, but 
also to the froward. For this is thank-worthy, if a 
man for conscience toward God endure grief, suffer- 
ing wrongfully. For what glory is it, if, when ye be 
buffeted for your faults, ye shall take it patiently ? 
But if, when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye take it 
patiently, this is acceptable with God. For even 
hereunto were ye called." 1 Pet. ii. 18-21. 

These scriptures are clear in condemning two 
things in servants. One is answering again, i. e. 
gainsaying, contradicting, or speaking against their 
master's persons, or commands, or plans. To this sin 
they are very liable from their position in life. The 
other is purloining, i. e., robbing, snatching, taking, 
embezzling, or going away. See Robinson's Lexi- 
con. 

These and other texts also require of servants these 
clear duties : 1, that they honour their masters, yea, 
that they count them worthy of all honour ; 2, that 
they reverence them, serving them with fear and tremb- 
ling. See also Mai. i. 6 ; 1 Pet. ii. 18 ; 3, that they 



THE FIFTH COMMANDMENT. 



37T 



carefully study to please them well in all things ; 4, 
that they shew all good fidelity, i. e. study to promote 
their master's interests ; and 5, that they yield a 
prompt, cheerful, diligent, and universal obedience 
to all their lawful commands, (see also Matt. xxv. 
26,) and this with singleness of heart, i. e. with sim- 
plicity, kindness, benevolence, liberality, and with 
goodwill, i. e., a willing mind, a good disposition, and 
religiously, as unto the Lord; 6, that they carefully 
at all times speak the truth to their masters. See 
an awful warning to lying servants in 2 Kings v. 
20-27. Compare Ps. ci. 7. 

The motives urged for doing these duties are 
weighty and solemn. 1. The opposite doctrine and 
conduct are full of the worst mischiefs. 1 Tim. vi. 
3-5. 2. If servants neglect these duties, they will 
bring great reproach upon religion. 1 Tim. vi. 1, 3. 
In faithfully doing and suffering God's will, servants 
are really serving the Lord Christ. Col. iii. 24. 4. 
God is not unmindful of their labour and patience. 
They shall receive of the Lord a full recompense ; 
they shall of him receive the reward of the inherit- 
ance. Eph. vi. 8 ; Col. iii. 24. 

Of all the duties which Christians owe to mankind, 
none are more clearly inculcated and none more 
deeply involve human happiness and the honour of 
religion than those which regard civil government. 
Error here will lead to much misery, and will tend to 
destroy much of the influence for good, which might 
otherwise be exerted. The matter assumes the graver 
importance, because there is much confusion in the 
public mind respecting it. Some religious teachers 
are truly erratic in their doctrines on this subject. 

32 * 



378 THE FIFTH COMMANDMENT. 

God's word makes it entirely clear that government 
is a divine ordinance. Rom. xiii. 1-7 ; Titus iii. 1 ; 
1 Pet. ii. 13-15. 

A few preliminary remarks are offered. 

1. There is nothing said in Scripture commanding, 
much less instituting any particular form of govern- 
ment, monarchical, aristocratical, democratical, or 
mixed, despotic, or free, constitutional or arbitrary. 
The kingdom which Christ has set up is not of this 
world, and was not designed to interfere with civil 
institutions, adapted to promote the good of man- 
kind. 

2. There is no intimation in Scripture that indiffer- 
ence to the affairs of one's country, and exclusion from 
ordinary intercourse with society are themselves vir- 
tues, or in any wise promotive of virtue. Patriotism 
and public spirit in the true sense of those terms have 
been illustrious in good men of all ages. He who 
loves not his own country, which he has seen, loves not 
other lands, which he has not seen. We cannot think 
too little of the patriotism, which swells, and swag- 
gers, is noisy and boastful, nor too highly of that 
meek, pure, humble, benevolent temper, which cheer- 
fully makes sacrifices of private interests for the pub- 
lic good. 

3. Christianity proposes to take all men as it finds 
them, kings and subjects, rulers and ruled, husbands 
and wives, parents and children, high and low, rich 
and poor, and by divine grace to make them better 
fitted for their several spheres. By edict or otherwise, 
it proscribes no lawful or useful occupation. It never 
intimates that the member of the body politic loses 
his status in civil society by a Christian profession. 



THE FIFTH COMMANDMENT. 379 



Christianity does neither elevate its devotees above 
their proper social position, nor depress them below it. 
Christianity does not alter man's civil condition. 

4. So great a blessing is civil government that 
probably the most imperfect form on earth, if regu- 
larly administered, is not so undesirable as anarchy. 
The latter carries in its train such a multitude of 
evils and those of so hideous a character that all good 
men shudder at the contemplation of them. Yet 
wicked rulers can do much harm. "As a roaring 
lion, and a ranging bear ; so is a wicked ruler over the 
poor people." Prov. xxviii. 15. "When the righte- 
ous are in authority, the people rejoice : but when the 
wicked beareth rule, the people mourn." Prov. xxix. 
2. The language of Scripture in describing the bene- 
fits of good government is striking and beautiful. 
See 2 Sam. xxiii. 3, 4. 1 Kings iv. 25, x. 8, 9, 2T ; 
Let us then consider, 

VI. THE DUTIES OF MAGISTRATES. 

In scriptural and theological language a magistrate 
is any officer of civil government. The distinction 
of the functions of government into the legislative, 
the judiciary, and the executive is not preserved in 
the Scriptures. They oppose no objection to such 
distinction, neither do they require it. Nor do they 
express any preference for an elective over an heredi- 
tary magistracy. Paul lived and suffered under Nero, 
and yet he obeyed in word and deed. But it is clear 
that free governments, which depend much on the 
popular will, ought to be promptly and cheerfully 
obeyed, not that they have so much terror perhaps as 
others, but they confer greater blessings and privi- 



380 THE FIFTH COMMANDMENT. 

leges. In them, laws are a nullity, if public opinion 
is against them. If a revolution is to follow every 
act of mal-administration, society would soon be dis- 
solved. Magistrates may err, sometimes through mis- 
take, sometimes through prejudice, sometimes through 
bad counsel, and sometimes through bad passions ; but 
a wise man will bear with these errors as long as he 
can. 

It is the more important that this matter be more 
clearly stated and frequently presented, because the 
present age is remarkable for contempt of authority, 
and for a tendency to loosen all the bands which hold 
bad men in restraint and secure quiet to the virtuous. 

1. One great duty of a magistrate is to under- 
stand that branch of government committed to him. 
"Woe to thee, 0 land, when thy king is a child." 
Eccles. x. 16. " The prince that wanteth under- 
standing is also a great oppressor." Prov. xxviii. 16. 
A strong mind and correct information respecting the 
duties of the office to be filled are essential to the 
magistrate. While it is not right that any class of 
citizens should be excluded from office, in general it 
is true that the ministers of religion ought not to rule 
the state. In ordinary cases, such of them as are 
conscientious, feel that they have more important 
work on hand, and are willing to say, " Let the dead 
bury their dead." 

2. But some public men who have good under- 
standings and are well-informed, are sordid, selfish, 
and have contracted views, and thus are unfit for 
their posts. A magistrate should be a man of mag- 
nanimity, leading him to avoid the thousand little 
arts and meannesses resorted to by many to retain 



THE FIFTH COMMANDMENT. 



381 



office and promote their private interests. A magis- 
trate should feel a common interest with those around 
him. He should not be a miser, a sharper, a buffoon, 
a jester, a glutton, or a drunkard. "It is not for 
kings, 0 Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine ; 
nor for princes strong drink : lest they drink, and 
forget the law, and pervert the judgment of any of 
the afflicted." Prov. xxxi. 4, 5. A magistrate should 
be eyes to the blind, and feet to the lame, and strength 
to the feeble. He ought to have a tender regard for 
widows and orphans, the stranger, the poor, the 
abused, the oppressed. In Scripture magistrates are 
called shepherds ; and if of a sordid character, they 
will love the fleece, but be careless of the flock. 

3. Magistrates must also be men of great firmness 
and fortitude. A timid man, who can be overawed 
by the clamour of the public, or led away by the vio- 
lence of the mob, is not fit to hold the reins of any 
government. Such pusillanimity and instability of 
character, as were exhibited by Pilate on the trial of 
our Saviour, wholly disqualify any man for office. 
The history of criminal jurisprudence in most coun- 
tries gives like illustrations of unworthiness. The 
fear of man brings a snare to rulers no less than to 
others. True courage and calm intrepidity are desi- 
rable qualities in any man. Without them a public 
functionary is a public curse. 

4. A good ruler must be a man of integrity and 
fidelity ; alike beyond the power of bribery and the 
power of flattery. He must have no favourites in 
the orders of society. Towards rich and poor, high 
and low, he must be impartial. When public men 
fan the flame of hatred between classes, or oppress 



382 



THE FIFTH COMMANDMENT. 



the poor, or favour the rich, their power becomes a 
curse. Some have maintained the doctrine that piety 
was in all cases necessary to fit a ruler for his office. 
But is this so ? Clearly there is many a truly pious 
man, who from ignorance and narrowness of mind, and 
timidity of character, is wholly unfit to fill any civil 
office. Nor do the Scriptures require that Christians 
promote the appointment of none but professed ser- 
vants of God to high trusts. Besides, where ungodly 
men hold the reins of government, God's people are 
bound to obey them in all their lawful commands, 
and have a right to claim the protection of their 
authority. It is true that where piety is genuine, it 
is an ornament to any character; and in a public 
officer it is a guaranty for the conscientious discharge 
of the duties of his station. Robert Walpole must 
have dealt with mere worldlings, or he never would 
have said, "Every man has his price." It is a deci- 
sion of some of our laws and courts that men who 
deny the doctrine of future rewards and punishments, 
or embrace other dangerous opinions, subversive of 
religion and morality, are not competent witnesses in 
a court of law. On such what binding force can an 
oath of office have ? 

5. A good magistrate must set a good example. 
In vain will he enforce the laws against good morals, 
if he tramples them under his own feet. What a 
blessing was good king Josiah in this respect, as well 
as in averting, at least for a time, the awful judgments 
of God is declared in Scripture, 2 Kings xxiii. 25 ; 
xxii. 19, 20. Indeed among rulers or ruled he 
is the best patriot who most faithfully serves God, 
and he is the worst traitor, who by sin most provokes 



THE FIFTH COMMANDMENT. 



383 



the majesty of Heaven. Compare Prov. xi. 11 ; xiv. 
34; Isa. i. 4-7. 

A general summary of the duties of rulers is the 
enactment and execution of good laws, 2 Chron. 
xix. 5-7 ; Zech. viii. 16 ; the maintenance of authority 
with wisdom, justice, and clemency, 2 Chron. i. 10; 
the punishment of evil doers, and the encouragement 
of them that do well; the protection of the people 
and providing for their common safety, seeking their 
prosperity and not oppressing them. 1 Tim. ii. 2 ; 
Prov. xxviii. 16. 

VII. THE DUTIES WHICH PEOPLE OWE TO THEIR RULERS. 

It is evident that the particular form of the govern- 
ment under which men live will somewhat modify 
their duties to their rulers. In a free commonwealth, 
more liberty is granted and the people are citizens, 
with their rights guaranteed. In a despotic form of 
government they are subjects of a prince whose will is 
the supreme law of the land. But the form of 
government can never absolve any one from the 
solemn duties he owes his rulers. 

1. As a general principle, we are to recognize the 
actual incumbent of any office as having been ap- 
pointed thereto by Providence. "Promotion cometh 
neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from 
the south. But God is the judge : he putteth down 
one, and setteth up another." Ps. lxxv. 6, 7. When 
our Saviour was on earth, it was much debated 
whether the Roman power in Judea was lawful. 
The question was submitted to him. He made no 
decision of the matter further than this ; that it was 
lawful to pay tribute, and so submit to the civil 



;84 



THE FIFTH COMMANDMENT. 



magistrate in the exercise of actual authority. " In- 
fidelity, or difference in religion, doth not make void 
a magistrate's just and legal authority, nor free the 
people from their due obedience to him.'' Nor do 
the illegal or wicked acts of a ruler in some things, 
exempt us from obedience to him in those things 
which he may lawfully require. Papists have some- 
times maintained the right of the Bishop of Rome to 
depose temporal princes. But the church has no 
sword except that of spiritual authority for spiritual 
ends. 2 Cor. x. 14. The case they sometimes urge 
from 2 Chron. xxvi. 16-18, does not help their cause. 
In that case Uzziah sinned by intruding himself into 
the sacred office, and Azariah and the other priests 
did not attempt to depose him from his kingly office. 
They only warned him against persisting in sin. It 
was God that excluded him from the functions of his 
civil office by smiting him with leprosy. Nor is the 
case mentioned in 2 Kings xi. 15, any more in their 
favour. For Athaliah was a woman and was not 
permitted to rule. J oash was also the lawful successor 
to the throne, and before the death of Athaliah had 
been proclaimed, anointed, and owned by the people 
as their king. 2 Kings xi. 12, 14. 

2. It is the duty of all men to treat all the officers 
of the government from the highest to the lowest with 
respect, and to give to each the honour that is his 
due, never using reviling or railing language to them 
or concerning them. All this is clear from God's 
word. See Ex. xxii. 28; 1 Sam. xxvi. 19; Eccles. x. 
20; Acts xxiii. 5; Rom. xiii. 7; 1 Pet. ii. 17; Jude 
8, 9. Nothing can release us from this duty. Be- 
yond his place and out of his place, an officer is to be 



THE FIFTH COMMANDMENT. 



385 



treated as other men, according to his merits. But 
in his official duty he must be honoured. Until 
Daniel was sent to denounce the judgments of God, 
and pass sentence of death on the guilty Belshazzar, 
he ever treated the court of Babylon with profound 
respect. 

3. We ought earnestly and fervently to pray for 
all that have authority over us, whatever their rank 
or character may be. This is a most reasonable 
duty, and it is expressly commanded, 1 Tim. ii. 1, 2. 
Such prayers ought to be offered in the closet, in the 
family, and in the great congregation. Nothing will 
justify formality or heartlessness in presenting such 
supplications. Our approval or disapproval of the 
leading measures of a government, neither increases 
nor diminishes this obligation. The command is clear 
and peremptory. It is not possible that Paul ap- 
proved of the cruelties and enormities of Nero, yet 
he prayed for him, and charged others to do the same. 
A due attention to this course would save us from an 
immense amount of misery. Nor should we forget 
that rulers, especially those very high in office, have 
a vast amount of worldly cares, which do bring their 
souls into extreme peril. Benevolence therefore 
urges us to this duty. Do you pray for public men ? 
They are in one sense your servants. Ought you 
not to ask for them grace to be faithful and wise? 
They are in another sense your rulers. Is it not a 
duty frequently enjoined by God that men should 
pray for their rulers? Does not nature teach as 
much? Would not a warmly pious heart compel 
you to do it ? One hearty prayer will do more good 
than a thousand angry remarks, and when you shall 
83 



386 THE FIFTH COMMANDMENT. 




have offered such a prayer, you will be a better man 
for having done it. 

4. We ought to pay all the taxes of every kind 
legally demanded of us by the government. We 
ought to do this honestly, promptly, cheerfully. 
So Christ taught us by his own example. Matt. xvii. 
27. So he taught us with his own blessed lips. Matt, 
xxii. 20, 21 ; Mark xii. 16, 17 ; Luke xx. 24-26. 
So Paul teaches us, Rom. xiii. 6, 7. Other passages 
are parallel. The Scriptures mention two kinds of 
taxes which are to be paid. One is custom, or a tax 
on property. The other is tribute or a poll tax. It is 
as truly wicked to defraud the government of its 
pecuniary dues, as it is to rob the poor. 

5. We ought also to give a prompt, cheerful and 
conscientious obedience to all the lawful commands of 
our government. This is made very clear from God's 
word. See Rom. xiii. 1-5 ; Titus iii. 1 ; 1 Pet. ii. 
13-17. These proofs derive great force from the 
fact that certainly one and perhaps all of them were 
written when a monster of wickedness ruled the 
Roman empire. The Scriptures are careful to note 
that our obedience is to be rendered, not for our at- 
tachment to a person or a party, but " for conscience' 
sake," that is, from religious principle. If the 
government should go beyond its duty and require us 
to do something wicked, then, indeed, we must obey 
God rather than man. Thus Daniel and the three 
young Hebrews refused to obey the commands of the 
mightiest monarch on earth, because his decrees were 
wicked. He had no right to forbid the prophet to 
worship the God of heaven, nor to require the three 
young men to fall down before his idol. In disobey- 



THE FIFTH COMMANDMENT. 



38T 



ing his wicked behests, these four men obtained 
a good report. On the other hand, the Israelites 
obeyed the wicked commands of Jeroboam, and the 
curse of God came upon them for their temerity. 
Where rulers go out of their office and meddle with 
things not belonging to them, they are not our rulers in 
that behalf, and so we are not bound to follow their 
dictation. The obedience we owe to the laws is due to 
them as laws, and not as the caprices of men out of 
office, or beside their office. 

6. All the acts and measures of a government are 
entitled to a just and candid construction. We are 
never at liberty to deal unfairly with any man, or set 
of men, much less with those who are borne down 
with the weight of public responsibilities. It is 
human to err. It is the glory of a man to pass over 
both serious mistakes and real wrongs as long as 
God's providence subjects him to them ; and so long 
as they are bearable. Blind submission and fond 
admiration are not required of us. But is it not true 
that in some circles, at least, our public men receive 
great injustice ? Is there not a greater readiness to 
take up an evil report against the private character 
of public than of private men? Is it certain that 
many do not greatly disregard the divine rule, " Thou 
shalt not speak evil of the ruler of thy people ?" In 
1827, an editor in Germany, forming his opinions 
from the journals of this country, said : " In the 
United States there are two candidates for the next 
presidency, neither of whom can be worthy of the 
least confidence. Indeed, they must be two of the 
worst men in the world." When we remember that 
this was said of two pure patriots, whose reputation is 



388 



THE FIFTH COMMANDMENT. 



now no small part of our country's honour, how must 
every good man blush ! 

Indeed, these atrocious attacks on private charac- 
ter, have, in some cases, deterred good men from con- 
senting to be candidates for important offices. Not 
long since,, a worthy and fit man was solicited to ac- 
cept a nomination for the office of Governor of his 
State. His reply was in substance that he had main- 
tained through life such a reputation as his children 
might not be ashamed of ; but should he lend his name 
for such a place, he should expect some infamous story 
to be fabricated, and by some believed. He there- 
fore respectfully, but positively refused. Should 
such refusals become common, our statesmen will soon 
be as bad as some in their uncharitableness are now 
ready to declare them all to be. 

It may, indeed, be said that the characters of pub- 
lic men are public property. Grant it, and yet it 
may solemnly be asked, Has any man a right to in- 
jure the public property ? Can any act of wanton- 
ness be more wicked than to spread a false report 
concerning a public man ? And it is not true that 
the private character of any man so belongs to the 
public, that it may be innocently assailed without 
mercy. The official conduct of every representative 
and functionary is proper matter of just criticism, 
and thorough but fair investigation. But if all the 
indiscretions of childhood and youth are to be sought 
out and dragged before the public, or if old and vile 
slanders are to be dug up and sent forth afresh, where 
is love ? where is justice ? where are the bonds of 
society ? where are Christian morals? 

It is true that men are often elected to carry out 



THE FIFTH COMMANDMENT. 389 

certain views which they honestly entertained and 
avowed before their election. If their views should 
change, all they have to do is to resign. Less than 
this would be highly dishonourable. It is true that 
when men differ from us on any subject, we are prone 
to think their arguments weak ; but is it thereupon 
right to say that they are not honestly held ? And 
warm discussions, whether on the whole operating for 
good or evil, are inseparable from freedom of opinion. 
Call them, if you choose, the evidences of feebleness 
in the human understanding. But they are essential 
to the maintenance of our great interests. 

It is also true that men, who do not actively and 
long engage in public affairs, seldom understand the 
bearings of many measures. A principle is often in- 
volved in a vote, which, if once adopted, carries mil- 
lions of money, and finally the liberties of the people 
with it. To reject a bill reasonable in most of its 
provisions, because it incorporates such a principle, 
may be a solemn duty. 

Let us at least hear before we condemn. " He that 
answereth a matter before he heareth it, it is folly 
and shame unto him." A large number of public 
measures, which, at the time of their adoption caused 
the greatest outcries in any country, are now gener- 
ally confessed to have been wise and necessary. 

Let all good men remember these things. 

1. Our rulers have souls to be saved or lost like 
other men. And their souls are in great danger from 
the ever-pressing and exciting nature of their duties. 
Public men are often separated from their families, 
from the best opportunities of secret devotion, and 
from the most impressive preaching of the gospel. 
33* 

I 



390 THE FIFTH COMMANDMENT. 

Other and peculiar temptations beset them. But 
they can be saved. Among them are fine specimens 
of evangelical piety and Christian consistency. It 
was, while a member of Congress, that Mr. (afterwards 
Rev. Dr.) Milnor became a follower of the prophet of 
Galilee. 

2. Public men have passions and consciences like 
other men. They often think of a future state, and 
a judgment to come." They often wish that some one 
would deal honestly and kindly with their souls. 
They wonder that they so often get letters from pious 
men, full of news, business, and politics, but seldom 
containing a word about God, eternity, the soul, or 
salvation. Who writes letters to politicians, exhort- 
ing them to work out their salvation with fear and 
trembling ? Yet such letters would be highly prized 
by many, if written in a tone of modesty, kindness, 
and earnestness. 

3. What a powerful influence the testimony of 
public men exerts in behalf of religion, when it is 
publicly and honestly given. No sentiment of any 
minister of the gospel of the same weight has proba- 
bly been read or felt by so many persons as the fol- 
lowing paragraph from one of our leading politicians, 
uttered on occasion of the death of a friend : " Politi- 
cal eminence and professional fame fade and die with 
all things earthly. Nothing of character is really 
permanent, but virtue and personal worth. They re- 
main. Whatever of excellence is wrought into the 
soul itself, belongs to both worlds. Real goodness 
does not attach itself merely to this life, it points to 
another world. Political or professional fame cannot 
last for ever, but a conscience void of offence before 



THE FIFTH COMMANDMENT. 391 

God and man, is an inheritance for eternity. Religion, 
therefore, is a necessary, an indispensable element in 
any great human character. There is no living with- 
out it. Religion is the tie that connects man with 
his Creator, and holds him to his throne. If that tie 
be all sundered, all broken, he floats away, a worth- 
less atom in the universe, its proper attractions all 
gone, its destiny thwarted, and its whole future, 
nothing but darkness, desolation and death. A man 
with no sense of religious duty is he whom the Scrip- 
tures describe — in so terse but terrific a manner — as 
'living without God in the world.' Such a man is 
out of his proper being, out of the circle of all his 
duties, out of the circle of all his happiness, and 
away, far, far away from the purposes of his crea- 
tion. " 

7. When our good rulers die, it is our duty publicly 
to manifest our sorrow in some becoming manner. 
Thus " the children of Israel wept for Moses in the 
plains of Moab, thirty days," Deut. xxxiv. 8. Thus 
also "all Judah and Jerusalem mourned for Josiah. 
And Jeremiah lamented for Josiah; all the singing 
men and the singing women spake of Josiah in their 
lamentations to this day." 2 Chron. xxxv. 24, 25. It 
is true indeed we can show no such respect as this to 
the memory of those monsters of wickedness, who 
sometimes bear rule over men. " When the wicked 
perish there is shouting," Prov. xi. 10. God inspired 
Isaiah to compose the sublimest poem found in any 
language, to be sung on the occasion of the death of 
that great oppressor, the king of Babylon, Isa. xiv. 
4-23. 

The duties of both magistrates and people are en- 



392 THE FIFTH COMMANDMENT. 



forced by the most solemn sanctions. If the ruled 
have their duties, so have the rulers. If the line of 
conduct is pointed out to the governed, it is also 
pointed out to governors. If the one, by misconduct, 
exposes himself to reprehension, so by misrule does 
the other. If the oath of fidelity and allegiance in 
the one cannot be broken without treason ; the oath 
of office in the other cannot be unheeded without per- 
jury. If the thief and the robber, and the murderer 
and the assassin shall not escape condemnation, shall 
tyrants and licentious rulers, who delight in blood, 
and gather around them unprincipled miscreants, be 
innocent ? If history points to the miserable end of 
wicked Shimei, who cursed the Lord's anointed, it 
no less warns us by the terrible punishments which 
came upon Saul, once the Lord's anointed, but for 
his iniquities delivered over to wrath. 

In like manner, we might show in detail the rela- 
tive duties of teachers and pupils, of church-officers 
and church-members, of commanders and soldiers, of 
old and young, of rich and poor, and indeed of all 
the relations of life. Lest we be tedious, these are 
passed over, not because they are unimportant, but 
because the chief duties arising out of them have 
been hinted at in considering other relations, or may 
easily be learned by reference to Scripture. Men 
are divided into three classes, superiors, inferiors, and 
equals. 1. In general the duties of superiors are to 
" love, pray for, and bless their inferiors ; to instruct, 
counsel, and admonish them ; countenancing, com- 
mending, and rewarding such as do well, and discoun- 
tenancing, reproving, and chastising such as do ill, 
protecting and providing for them things necessary 



THE FIFTH COMMANDMENT. 



393 



for soul and body ; and by grave, wise, holy, and ex- 
emplary carriage, to procure glory to God, honour to 
themselves, and so preserve that authority which God 
hath put upon them." 2. The duties of inferiors are 
" due reverence in heart, word and behaviour ; pray- 
er and thanksgiving for them ; imitation of their vir- 
tues and graces ; willing obedience to their lawful 
commands and counsels ; due submission to their cor- 
rections ; fidelity to them ; the defence and mainte- 
nance of their persons and authority ; bearing with 
their infirmities, and covering them in love." 3. Be- 
cause the law of God is perfect and comprehends all 
possible cases, no doubt the relations of equals are 
included in this precept. For, if superiors and infe- 
riors owe duties to others, surely equals are not ex- 
empt from obligations to their fellows. The West- 
minster Assembly thus well sums up the duties of 
equals. " The duties of equals are, to regard the 
dignity and worth of each other, in giving honour to 
go one before another ; and to rejoice in each other's 
gifts and advancement as their own." The same re- 
spectable authority says, " The sins of equals are, 
besides the neglect of the duties required, the under- 
valuing of the worth, envying the gifts, grieving at 
the advancement or prosperity one of another; and 
usurping pre-eminence one over another." 



394 



THE SIXTH COMMANDMENT. 



CHAPTER XX. 
THE SIXTH COMMANDMENT. 

THOU SHALT NOT KILL. 

THIS commandment, as well as others, was greatly 
perverted by the traditions and glosses of the 
Scribes and Pharisees. So when our Saviour came, the 
design of a part of his teaching was to rescue it from 
perversion : " Ye have heard that it was said by them 
of old time, Thou shalt not kill ; and whosoever shall 
kill shall be in danger of the judgment ; but I say 
unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother 
without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment ; 
and whosoever shall say to his brother, Haea, shall be 
in danger of the council ; but whosoever shall say, 
Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell-fire," Matt. v. 
21, 22. The general scope of this teaching of our 
Lord is to show that not only actual murder is thus 
forbidden, but also all that leads to it. 

A few preliminary remarks seem to be called for. 
1. The command reads, " Thou shalt not hill;" and 
upon the face of it, we seem to be prohibited from 
taking the life of any creature. But other Scriptures 
inform us, that it is lawful for us to eat the flesh of 
beasts, birds,and fishes. Thus God says to Noah, "Every 
moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you ; even 



THE SIXTH COMMANDMENT. 



395 



as the green herb have I given thee all things," Gen. 
ix. 3. This grant is the more remarkable as it was 
not made until more than 2300 years after the crea- 
tion. The New Testament fully sustains this grant 
to Noah. Our Lord himself partook of animal food, 
Luke xxiv. 42. And Paul says, " I know and am 
persuaded by the Lord J esus that there is nothing un- 
clean of itself," Rom. xiv. 14. And again, "What- 
soever is sold in the shambles, that eat, asking no 
questions for conscience' sake," 1 Cor. x. 25. And 
again, " Every creature of God is good, and nothing 
to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving," 1 
Tim. iv. 4. So that it is clear that we are not for- 
bidden to take the life of animals for food. 

Nor is it wrong to take the life of animals which 
are dangerous or ravenous. By miracle David slew 
a bear and a lion ; and Paul shook off the serpent 
into the fire. The law of self-preservation fully jus- 
tifies our destruction of noxious animals. 

But lest this liberty be misunderstood, it is proper 
to state that all cruelty to the brute creation is clearly 
forbidden. Durham : " God once made a dumb ass 
to rebuke the madness of a prophet," Num. xxii. 28. 
" A righteous man regardeth the life of his beast." 
The emperor Domitian began his career of crime and 
cruelty by torturing flies with a bodkin. Benedict 
Arnold, when a lad, delighted in tormenting calves, 
colts, and lambs, thus preparing for his end of in- 
famy. 

2. There are three reasons why we are bound to 
be careful of human life. The first is, that mankind 
are our brethren and our flesh. Gen. xxxvii. 27 ; Isa. 
lviii, 7 ; Acts xvii. 26, 28. Nature ought to move, 



396 



THE SIXTH COMMANDMENT. 



and if we were not sadly depraved, would mightily 
move us in this direction. The second is, that God 
made man in his own image. Gen. ix. 6. Although by 
the fall, man has lost the moral image of God, yet he 
still has his natural image, consisting in his intellec- 
tual nature, which though marred is not destroyed. 
A third reason is, a clear and explicit command of 
God, hedging about human life with great care, as in 
this commandment, and often elsewhere ; so that God 
requires that every beast that shall shed the blood of 
man shall itself be slain. Gen. ix. 5 ; Ex. xxi. 28, 

3. Important as is the preservation of our own 
lives and the lives of our fellow-men, yet we are not 
at liberty to use unlawful means for that purpose. 
"We may not lie, or steal, or swear falsely, or deny 
God's truth, even to save life, our own or that of 
others. Gen. xii. 12, 13 ; Rom. iii. 8 ; 1 Tim. i. 19, 
20. Honour, truth, and conscience are worth more 
than life. It was the devil (and not God) who said : 
" Skin for skin, yea, all that a man hath will he 
give for his life." Job ii. 4. 

4. There is nothing in this command forbidding us 
to take the life of men, who are seeking our lives, if 
we have no other way of escaping their malicious 
plots. This was clearly settled just after giving the 
moral law from Sinai. " If a thief be found breaking 
up, and be smitten that he die, there shall no blood be 
shed for him." Ex. xxii. 2. Our Lord, himself, may 
allude to this law as of force in his day. Matt. xxiv. 
43. The reason of the law is, that there is always a 
strong presumption that a house-breaker will commit 
murder, if necessary to effect his nefarious designs. 
Nearly the whole Christian world has united in de- 



THE SIXTH COMMANDMENT. 



397 



claring the right of self-defence against murderous 
assaults. 

5. Nor is there anything in this command prohibit- 
ing war, when necessary for the defence of a nation, 
or for the recovery of unquestioned rights. Gen. xiv. 
13-16 ; Ex. xvii. 8-12 ; Judges v. 23 ; 1 Sam. xxx. 
3-20, &c. John the Baptist called upon soldiers to 
"do no violence, and accuse no man falsely, but be 
content with your wages," Luke iii. 14 ; but he never 
hinted to them that their calling was unlawful. Our 
Lord also greatly commended the faith of the centu- 
rion, but never called on him to renounce his profes- 
sion. Luke vii. 8, 9. While all this is so, the world 
ought not to forget what Dwight says : "Aggressive 
war is nothing but a complication of robbery and 
murder;" and what Robert Hall says: "War is 
nothing but a temporary repeal of all the principles of 
virtue." We are also warned in Scripture that war 
is full of terrors and horrors. 

The prophet Isaiah thus describes war : 
" Howl ye, for the day of the Lord is at hand ; it 
shall come as a destruction from the Almighty. 
Therefore shall all hands be faint, and every man's 
heart shall melt ; and they shall be afraid ; pangs and 
sorrows shall take hold of them; they shall be in 
pain as a woman that travaileth; they shall be 
amazed one at another ; their faces shall be as flames. 
Behold, the day of the Lord cometh, cruel both with 
wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate : and 
he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it. For 
the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof, 
shall not give their light ; the sun shall be darkened 
in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her 
34 



398 THE SIXTH COMMANDMENT. 

light to shine. Every one that is found shall 
thrust through. Their children also shall be dashed to 
pieces before their eyes ; their houses shall be spoiled, 
and their wives ravished. Their bows also shall 
dash the young men to pieces, and they shall have no 
pity on the fruit of the womb ; their eye shall not 
spare children. For every battle of the warrior is 
with confused noise, and garments rolled in blood." 
Compare Jer. iv. 19-31. 

6. Although this commandment is against the mur- 
der of men's bodies, and against all that may lead 
thereto, it could be by fair and easy inference shown 
that the murder of their souls is even more dreadful ; 
and we may therefore expect God to inflict the direst 
judgments on those on whom the blood of souls is 
found. Ezek. xxxiii. 8. 

We are now prepared to consider several classes of 
sins against this commandment. 

I. WRONG FEELINGS. 

" A tart temper never mellows with age, and a sharp tongue is the 
only edged-tool that grows keener with constant use." — Irving. 

1. One of the tempers very unfriendly to our own 
life and the lives of others is discontent. When in- 
dulged, there is no telling to what length it will go. 
It is very deceitful, and comes to us under the most 
plausible pretences. "A change of situation is but 
a change of one class of trials, temptations, and 
duties for another." "Hell and destruction are 
never full, so the eyes of man are never satisfied." 
Prov. xxvii. 20. Discontent is well-nigh universal. 
Through divine grace it does not reign in the righte- 



THE SIXTH COMMANDMENT. 



399 



ous, but it annoys them. How much unseemliness it 
produces. " As a bird that wandereth from her nest, 
so is a man that wandereth from his place." Prov. 
xxvii. 8. When discontent becomes strong and vio- 
lent, it exhibits itself in ill-nature towards man and 
in hard thoughts and wicked speeches respecting God. 
It makes our fellow-creatures around us unhappy. It 
converts us into "murmurers and complainers." Jude 
16. It is entirely counter to the Lord's prayer, 
" Thy will be done." It produces pining, and often 
ends in the destruction of human life. It would be 
well if mankind had clear apprehensions of the sinful- 
ness of discontent. When it assumes a violent form 
and becomes impatient, it makes us quarrel with 
providence, and foolishly declare life undesirable. 
The prophet sent to warn Nineveh was in such a 
frame. "Now, 0 Lord, take, I beseech thee, my 
life from me ; for it is better for me to die than to 
live. ... I do well to be angry even unto death." 
Jonah iv. 3, 9. How much more befitting was the 
language of Job in his deep afflictions : " All the days 
of my appointed time will I wait, till my change 
come." Job xiv. 14. Luther, seeing a bird light on 
a twig by his window, to roost for the night, wrote : 
" Ah, dear little bird ! he has chosen his shelter, and 
is quietly rocking himself to sleep without a care for 
to-morrow's lodging, calmly holding by his little twig, 
and leaving God to think for him." Irrational crea- 
tures act as if they had more faith in God than men 
who profess to know him. 

2. Ambition is no less against the spirit of this 
command. It may be very low in its aims, yet if it 
rule a man it will ruin him. One may " aspire to be 



400 



THE SIXTH COMMANDMENT. 



a fool," he may aim at being esteemed rough, or un- 
polished ; or he may aim high, and desire to subject 
thousands to his belief, or influence, or government. 
He may be ready to wade through rivers of blood 
and build a throne on human skulls. The deadly 
nature of this passion is often concealed under plausi- 
ble names. It is called spirit, energy, laudable emula- 
tion, &c. But in its gratification, men often destroy 
soul and body, and become unjust enemies of those 
who favour not their selfish aims. To such, how clear 
is the word of God : " Seekest thou great things for 
thyself? seek them not." Jer. xlv. 5. The higher 
the ambitious rise, the greater is their peril and the 
more tremendous will be their fall. 

3. Nor is envy less contrary to this commandment. It 
often destroys life. It is "a rottenness of the bones." 
Prov. xiv. 30. 

"What makes the man of envy what he is 
Is worth in others, vileness in himself, 
A lust of praise, with undeserving deeds, 
And conscious poverty of soul." 

How some hearts sicken at rising merit, and grow- 
ing worth, and increasing credit in others ! How em- 
bittered is rivalry ! The unsanctified heart dies 
within it at the advance of a competitor. The hollow- 
hearted professor of religion sickens at the moral 
grandeur of a church not of his sect. How envy 
detracts from the worth of good men. How it wastes 
its subject. "Wrath is cruel, and anger is outrage- 
ous, but who can stand before envy ?" Prov. xxvii. 
4. It directly leads to murder. 1 John iii. 12. And 
yet how common it is. J ames iv. 5. " The shadow doth 
not more naturally attend the sun than envy doth 



THE SIXTH COMMANDMENT. 



401 



favour." Boston: "Envy is the devil's two edged 
sword drawn to slay two at once ; the envious him- 
self, Prov. xiv. 30, for he is like a serpent gnawing 
its own tail, Job v. 2 ; and the party envied. Prov. 
xxvii. 4." 

4. Revenge is another malignant exercise of the 
heart. Some of the more devilish exhibitions of it 
will be considered hereafter. It manifests itself in 
the rencontres of public assemblies. But often' it 
works secretly, where all seems fair and kind. It 
clandestinely attacks property, liberty, or reputation. 
Possibly it becomes open, and indulges in innuendo, 
invective or scurrility ; or it delights in the envenomed 
retort, and with keen irony, biting sarcasm, or scorn- 
ful ridicule, assaults its object. " Dearly beloved, 
avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto 
wrath ; for it is written, Vengeance is mine, I will 
repay, saith the Lord. Therefore, if thine enemy 
hunger, feed him," &c. Rom. xii. 19, 20. 

5. Sinful anger is also contrary to the sixth com- 
mandment. All anger is not wicked. Jesus Christ 
himself was angry. Mark iii. 5. We are bound to 
express hearty and decided displeasure at wrongs 
committed against ourselves or others. But anger is 
sinful when it becomes outrageous, Prov. xxvii. 4 ; 
when we give way to passion, so that reason is vir- 
tually dethroned ; or when it is without just cause, 
Matt. v. 22 ; or when it is of long continuance, Eph. 
iv. 26; or when it is accompanied with ill-will. It is 
not easy, yet it is possible to "be angry and sin 
not." Anger may rise in the bosom of a wise man, 
but it rests only in the bosom of fools. "Let all bit- 
terness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil- 

34* 



402 THE SIXTH COMMANDMENT. 



speaking, be put away from you with all malice." 
Eph. iv. 31. It is peculiarly sinful to bring our 
angry feelings into religion. "The wrath of man 
worketh not the righteousness of God." Seeker: 
"He that would be angry and sin not, must not be 
angry with anything but sin." James i. 20. "He 
that is slow to wrath, is of great understanding; but 
he that is hasty of spirit exalteth folly." Prov. xiv. 29. 
See also Prov. xvi. 32. 

6. Hatred of our fellow-men, in any degree and in 
every shape, is sinful. It is essentially ill-will. Very 
properly does the apostle put it in the catalogue of 
works of the flesh. Gal. v. 19-21. "He that saith 
he is in the light and hateth his brother is in dark- 
ness even until now." 1 John ii. 9. "Whosoever 
hateth his brother is a murderer, and ye know that 
no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him." 
1 John iii. 15. "If a man say I love God, and 
hateth his brother, he is a liar." 1 John iv. 20. 
These Scriptures settle the question. Hatred leads 
to actual murder, because it "stirreth up strifes." 
Prov. x. 12. 

7. Rancour is hatred of long standing, known in 
Scripture by the epithets old hatred and perpetual 
hatred. Ezek. xxv. 15, xxxv. 5. Rancour is of 
course inveterate and exceedingly stubborn. It 
shows itself in shyness and coolness of manner, in 
grudges and in heart-burnings. Where such a 
sentiment possesses the heart, holiness cannot dwell. 
Left to himself, the subject of such an affection will 
soon be prepared for any deed of violence. 

8. One of the strongest exhibitions of depravity 
is the spirit of unmercifulness. The Lord said, 



THE SIXTH COMMANDMENT. 



403 



"Blessed are the merciful; for they shall obtain 
mercy." Matt. v. 7. The same principle is asserted 
throughout the Scriptures. Yet behold the wretched, 
ness of our race. 

"And man, whose heaven-erected face 
The smiles of love adorn, 
Man's inhumanity to man 

Makes countless thousands mourn." 

How often does the creditor take the debtor by the 
throat, and sternly say, "Pay me that thou owest." 
The poor man cries, "Have patience with me, and I 
will pay thee all." But the greedy monster wields 
all his power to distress even friends, that in some 
way he may extort the amount of his claims. Every- 
where are found marks of this evil spirit. Oh how 
will the injured, and abused, and wronged of the race 
arise and clank their chains and show their scars, and 
pour abundant shame on the inhuman wretches, who 
made their lives a burden ! 

" There's no flesh in man's obdurate heart, 
It cannot feel for man." 

What would a tyrant monarch, a tyrant governor, a 
tyrant husband, a tyrant father, a tyrant master, a 
tyrant creditor, a tyrant officer do in heaven, where 
all is gentleness and love? Ah, without repentance 
he shall never see that holy, happy place. " He shall 
have judgment without mercy, who hath showed no 
mercy." James ii. 13. 

9. An unforgiving temper is no less clearly sinful. 
The Lord says, "If ye forgive not men their tres- 
passes, neither will your Father forgive your tres- 
passes." Matt. vi. 15. To pretend to forgive, only 



404 



THE SIXTH COMMANDMENT. 



because we cannot otherwise be forgiven ; and to for- 
give but not forget, is not what the Lord requires. 
He, who cherishes a sense of wrongs with an inten- 
tion to requite them as soon as occasion offers, can 
never truly pray, "Forgive us our debts as we forgive 
our debtors." When such an one reads that we must 
forgive a brother seventy times seven, he does not 
even attempt conformity to this law. 

10. Contempt is a sentiment not to be cherished. 
Commonly its chief ingredients are haughtiness and 
scorn. It forgets that God hath made of one blood 
all nations of men, that we are all sinners before 
God, and that the Almighty is no respecter of per- 
sons. Haughty scorner is the designation of a bad 
man. 

11. Sometimes malice shows itself at the downfall 
of others. But "he that is glad at calamities shall 
not be unpunished." Erov. xvii. 5. None but devils 
and those who are of their father the devil will exult 
because evil has come on a fellow-worm. 

12. Any unkind feeling to men is sinful, and 
strictly forbidden by the spirit of the sixth com- 
mandment. " Be ye kindly affectioned one to 
another." 

13. Nor is ingratitude an uncommon sin. An 
ancient heathen said, "If ingratitude were actionable, 
there would not be courts enough in the world to try 
the causes." Another said, "Call me ungrateful, 
and after that you can say no more evil of me." 
How many are annually carried to the grave through 
the ingratitude of those from whom better things 
might have been expected ! 

14. Of all the dispositions of the mind, perhaps 



THE SIXTH COMMANDMENT. 



405 



none leads to more frequent violations of the sixth 
commandment than pride. Leighton: "Pride is the 
spring of malice and desire of revenge, and of rash 
anger and contention." Tully was proud of his 
humble origin, and boasted that he was "the first of 
his family." Others find fuel for this passion in the 
ancient respectability of their households. Diogenes 
was proud of the meanness of his circumstances; 
whilst many are lifted up with their wealth. The 
disposition, which makes one man put on purple and 
fine linen, makes another assume the roughness 
of a voluntary humility. Men are proud of their 
parents, of their children, of their brothers and 
sisters, of their companions, of their correspondents, 
of their acquaintance, of their learning, of their 
ignorance, of their talents, of their persons, of their 
success, of their education, or of their want of it, of 
their virtues, and even of their crimes. Even a little 
gauze, or a little tiffany makes some proud. Yea, a 
man may be proud of his humility. This pride fills 
men with self-conceit; it causes them to speak in 
assumptive tones; it makes them stubborn, heady, 
untractable ; it fills them with the spirit of dictation ; 
it kindles up fearful strife. "Only by pride cometh 
contention." Prov. xiii. 10. The proud condescends 
to mix with others only by the force of some reason 
like this: "A sunbeam contracts no pollution by 
shining on a dung-hill." Pride fills our courts with 
litigants. It leads to broils, disputes, and murders. 
Like salamanders, the proud live in fire. Like 
Nabal, they are such sons of Belial that a man cannot 
speak to them, without incurring their displeasure. 
They expect all others to be humble ; for pride in 



406 



THE SIXTH COMMANDMENT. 



their fellow-men is very offensive to the proud. At 
times indeed when overawed, the proud will cringe, 
and truckle, and show real meanness of spirit. The 
Scriptures set themselves everywhere against pride. 
" The proud and all that do wickedly shall be burned 
up." Mai. iv. 1. " A proud heart is sin." Prov. xxi. 
4. "Every one that is proud in heart is abomination 
to the Lord." Prov. xvi. 5. "God resisteth the 
proud, but giveth grace unto the humble." James 
iv. 6. 

II. WRONG WORDS. 

Another way of violating this commandment is by 
sinful language. " Grievous words stir up anger." 
Prov. xv. 1. " There is that speaketh like the pierc- 
ings of a sword." Prov. xii. 18. David complained, 
" My soul is among lions : and I lie even among them 
that are set on fire, even the sons of men, whose* 
teeth are spears and arrows, and their tongue a sharp 
sword." And again : "Behold they belch out with 
their mouth; swords are in their lips." Again: 
" They whet their tongue like a sword, and bend their 
bows to shoot their arrows, even bitter words." Ps. 
lvii. 4 ; lix. 7 ; lxiv. 3. In interpreting this precept, 
our Lord warned men against saying Maca, which 
means vain fellow. Michal, David's wife, violated 
this commandment when she scornfully said, " How 
glorious was the King of Israel to-day, who uncovered 
himself to-day in the eyes of the handmaids of his 
servants, as one of the vain fellows shamelessly un- 
covereth himself." 2 Sam. vi. 20. The Lord also 
forbade us to apply to men in any provoking way, 
the epithet fool, which signified not only that one is 
far from wisdom, but also that he is wicked and un- 



THE SIXTH COMMANDMENT. 407 

godly. He that swears away the life of a fellow 
creature is himself a murderer. Prov. vi. 16-19 ; 
xix. 5. He that suborns others to do the same 
is a murderer. Acts vi. 13. He who passes unjust 
sentence of death is a murderer, Prov. xvii. 15 ; 
1 Kings xxi. 9-14. He who rewards the righteous 
according to the work of the wicked is a murderer. 
Isa. v. 23. He who sees a fellow-creature in danger, 
and warns him not, lies under blood-guiltiness. Lev. 
xix* 17 ; Isa. lviii. 1. He who utters even the truth 
maliciously is in the same condemnation. 1 Sam. xxii. 
9, 10 ; Ps. lii. 1. He who speaks slightingly of jus- 
tice, and is regardless of truth, does what he can to 
spread the spirit of murder. Isa. lix. 4. He who per- 
verts the sayings of his fellow-men, Matt. xxvi. 60, 
61 ; Ps. lvi. 5 ; he who by falsehood afflicts his neigh- 
bour, Ps. 1. 20 ; he who backbites with his tongue, 
Ps. xv. 3 ; he who speaks evil of his neighbour, Titus 
iii. 2 ; he who turns tale-bearer, Lev. xix. 16 ; he who 
disturbs the peace of society by whispering, Rom. i. 
29 ; by mocking, Isa. xxviii. 22 ; by reviling, 1 Cor. 
vi. 10 ; in short, he who, by any form of speech 
annoys his fellow-men, breaks up the peace of fami- 
lies, and fills upright men with anxiety and sorrow, 
violates the spirit of this commandment. 

III. WICKED PLOTS. 

I Men are not free from the guilt of breaking this 
precept, when they command or contrive the death of 
others ; as when Saul bid Doeg kill the Lord's priests ; 
or when David told Joab to put Uriah in the front of 
the battle ; or when they counsel and advise the ruin 
of moral character, as did Jonadab, 2 Sam. xiii. 1-29 ; 



408 



THE SIXTH COMMANDMENT. 



or when men stand by and consent to outrages against 
others, Acts viii. 1 ; or by failing to give faithful 
warning, Ezek. iii. 18 ; or by giving their voice to put 
men in offices which they are not capable of filling, 
and from their incompetency sad evils result, 1 Tim. 
v. 22. 

IV. QUARRELLING. 

Perhaps no form of social evil is more degrading, 
or leads to more misery than low quarelling. It makes 
a hell upon earth. See Gal. v. 15. 

V. WRONG ACTS. 

All expressions of the evil passions already spoken 
of are acts contrary to this commandment. Of this 
kind are all looks and gestures of a menacing, malig- 
nant, revengeful, violent, irritating, spiteful or tor- 
menting character, all oppression, Isa. iii. 15, smiting, 
maiming and wounding, Num. xxxv. 16, 21, Prov. 
xxviii. 17, or doing anything which tends to the de- 
struction of human life, Ex. xxi. 18-36. 

Some things suggested by this commandment re- 
quire a more particular consideration. Let us there- 
fore inquire, 

VI. IS SUICIDE CRIMINAL? 

It cannot be denied that the value set upon our 
own lives is in many cases very small. Mr. Hume, 
of the eighteenth century, wrote in favour of suicide ; 
and since his time societies for the encouragement of 
self-destruction have been formed in many parts of 
Europe. Their baneful influence has also been ex- 
tended to America. Mr. Hume's reasoning is truly 



THE SIXTH COMMANDMENT. 



409 



shocking to pious minds. He says : "In the sight 
of God every event is alike important ; and the life 
of a man is of no greater importance to the universe 
than that of an oyster." This sounds well in the 
ears of profane men. . Yet every man hnoios that 
there is no truth in it. Though lessons may be 
learned from the lowest of God's works, yet Infinite 
Wisdom has never given to the world the history of 
an oyster for its instruction. But God has inspired 
many men to write the lives of others, and has pre- 
served them to us in the canon of Scripture. The 
reckless question of Mr. Hume : " Where is the 
crime of turning a few ounces of blood out of their 
channel?" is as applicable to murder as to suicide; 
and what further license can the murderer possibly 
ask than to be allowed to plead at the tribunal of 
public justice that he has committed no crime by turn- 
ing a few ounces of blood out of their course ? 

With all his acuteness, Mr. Hume terribly con- 
founds the plainest distinctions. He says : " When 
I fall upon my own sword, I receive my death equally 
from the hands of the Deity, as if it had proceeded 
from a lion, a precipice, or a fever." If this sen- 
tence has any meaning, it is that the wilful, deliberate 
taking of our own lives is the same as dying by the 
providence of God, when he permits us to fall under 
the influence of pestilence, or of wild beasts. And 
if that is true, then we are no more criminal for kill- 
ing a man than we are for seeing him die of a fever. 

The whole argument in favour of suicide goes on 
the supposition of the truth of these principles which 
are clearly false. 1, That man has a right to dispose 
of his own life ; whereas none but the Author of our 
35 



410 THE SIXTH COMMANDMENT. 



existence can lawfully do so; 2, that we are compe- 
tent judges of the question whether we have lived 
long enough or not ; whereas a large proportion of 
mankind have been very useful after they supposed 
they could do no more good ; 3, that we owe no ob- 
ligations to parents, or children, or others, who may 
be dependent upon our exertions ; whereas we may 
entail upon them untold miseries by taking our own 
lives ; 4, that God has not legislated on the subject ; 
whereas the sixth commandment clearly forbids it; 
5, that salvation is not an object worth seeking, 
whereas it is the only thing claiming our supreme at- 
tention ; 6, that it is heroic to sink under distress or 
play the coward in suffering wrong; whereas a large 
part of the best moral lessons, taught by example, 
has been delivered to mankind in the depths of 
affliction. 

It is not necessary to use any harsh language re- 
specting the entire class of persons, who may be left 
to take their own lives. In some cases, no doubt, 
reason is dethroned before the fatal act is committed. 
While we may charitably hope that this is so, it is an 
appalling fact that the Scriptures do not mention a 
single instance of any good man committing this sin. 
Three cases are given in Holy Scripture. One is that 
of Saul, a man of violent passions, who sought to 
compass the death of his own son, Jonathan, and of 
his son-in-law and deliverer, David; an open trans- 
gressor of the divine will, who, before the close of 
life, committed crimes which he knew ought to be 
punished with death. Another is that of Ahithophel, 
a wily statesman, a man of unusual political sagacity, 
but wholly unprincipled, and a traitor against King 



THE SIXTH COMMANDMENT. 



411 



David. The third was that of Judas Iscariot, for 
years a thief, consummating his crimes by betraying 
his Redeemer. There can be no hope of the salva- 
tion of a man who in the exercise of his reason com- 
mits this crime. 

It is fatal to all claim of inspiration to the Book 
of 2 Maccabees, that it vindicates suicide, as being 
something noble, in Razis. 2 Mac. xiv. 41-46. So 
unmanly is suicide that even Aristotle has condemned 
it : " For a man to die merely that he may avoid 
poverty or trials is not courage, but sheer cowardice. 
It declares that he wants fortitude to encounter them." 
Of the self-destroyer a poet says : 

" He thought, but thought amiss, that of himself 
He was entire proprietor ; and so, 
When he was tired of time, with his own hand, 
He oped the portals of eternity, 
And sooner than the devils hoped, arrived 
In hell." 

VII. THE DUEL. 

The duel is a combat with deadly weapons between 
two persons agreeably to previous arrangements. It 
diners from a boxing match, because in that no wea- 
pons are used. It differs from a rencounter, because 
that is a sudden combat without premeditation. These 
may be as immoral and as fatal in their consequences 
as the duel. But neither of them is so called. 

1. The modern duel is maintained to avenge per- 
sonal or family insults. It can in no way be justified. 
" Thou shalt not kill,'" is the plain command of him 
that made us. No acumen can reconcile duelling 
with this prohibition. The law is clear. No excep- 
tion is made in other parts of the divine code. The 



112 THE SIXTH COMMANDMENT. 

contrariety betwixt this practice and the law of God 
is manifest. The statute is unrepealed. 

2. The duel includes in it also the guilt of suicide. 
As man has no right to take his own life, so he has 
no right wantonly to expose it to destruction. He 
who without any call of Providence knowingly puts 
himself in needless peril, contracts the guilt of sui- 
cide. Nor can we plead for duellists as in some cases 
we may for suicides, that they are insane. Duellists 
themselves admit that it would be murder to call to 
the field any unfortunate fellow-creature, whose rea- 
son had fallen from its throne. The duellist is mad 
in no other sense than that the sorcery of sin has be- 
witched him. His blood, if shed, is, in a fearful 
sense, on himself. Even if from the first, he intends 
to fire his own weapon into the air, yet if he exposes 
his body to the fire of an antagonist, he is in heart a 
self-murderer. If he dies in the duel, he has done 
what the law of nature and the word of God forbid, 
and incurred the heinous guilt of dying in an act 
which admits of neither reparation nor repentance. 
"No murderer has eternal life abiding in him." This 
is as true of him who kills himself as of any other 
murderer. Before his conversion, J. A. Haldane 
fought a duel, and as he raised the pistol, he prayed, 
"Father, into thy hands I commit my spirit," Life 
of Haldane, p. 61. Such prayers are vain and are 
commonly admitted to be so. They are hypocritical. 

3. Moreover duelling is in its very nature murder- 
ous. The weapons chosen are the weapons of death. 
The efforts of each party are almost without excep- 
tion for the destruction of his antagonist's life. Tho 
fact of a malignant animuz is proven by all the cir- 



THE SIXTH COMMANDMENT. 



413 



cumstances attending duels. The deliberate aim of a 
deadly weapon at the person of a fellow-creature de- 
termines the act to be murderous in design, and if 
life is taken, to be murder in fact. This is indeed 
strong but not rash language. Sir Matthew Hale 
says, " This is a plain case, and without any question. 
If one kill another in fight, even upon the provo- 
cation of him that is killed, this is murder." Judge 
Foster says, " Deliberate duelling, if death ensue, is, 
in the eye of the law, murder." Sir Edward Coke 
says, " Single combat between any of the king's sub- 
jects is strictly prohibited by the laws of the realm, 
and on this principle, that in states governed by law, 
no man, in consequence of any injury whatever, ought 
to indulge the principle of private revenge." Black- 
stone, supported by Coke, says : " Murder is when a 
person of sound memory and discretion, unlawfully 
killeth any reasonable creature in being, and under 
the king's peace, with malice aforethought, either ex- 
press or implied." The applicability of this defini- 
tion to the crime of killing in a duel, will be granted 
by all, except so much as relates to malice aforethought. 
Even a part of this will not be denied, viz. that if 
there be malice at all, it is aforethought. Is there 
malice at all ? The forbidden act of shooting with 
intent to kill is clearly malice implied. Is it not also 
malice expressed ? The authority last cited says, 
" This malice aforethought is the grand criterion 
which now distinguishes murder from other killing ; 
and this malice prepense is not so properly spite or 
malevolence to the deceased in particular, as any evil 
design in general ; the dictate of a wicked, depraved, 
and malignant heart ; and it may be either express or 
35 • 



414 



THE SIXTH COMMANDMENT. 



implied in law. Express malice is when one with a 
sedate, deliberate mind and formed design, doth kill 
another, which formed design is evidenced by exter- 
nal circumstances discerning that inward intention ; as 
lying in wait, antecedent menaces, former grudges, 
and concerted schemes to do some bodily harm. This 
takes in the case of deliberate duelling, where both 
parties meet avowedly with an intent to murder ; 
thinking it their duty as gentlemen and claiming it as 
their right, to wanton with their own lives and those 
of their fellow-creatures ; without any authority or 
warrant from any power either human or divine, but 
in direct contradiction to the laws both of God and man. ' ' 

These statements of principles are clear. They 
are made by lawyers and judges, not by divines and 
moralists. Their authors cannot be s suspected of any 
wild, religious fervour, or of any foolish devotion to 
a fine-spun theory in ethics. 

Killing in a duel, then, is murder ; intent to kill in 
a duel, is intent to commit murder. Milder terms 
ought not to be employed. 

4. Both human and divine laws properly guard the 
life of man with much caution. Blackstone says : 
" If any man in a populous town throws carelessly 
from a house-top any tile or timber, and gives no no- 
tice to the crowd that is usually passing below, though 
he may see no one, yet if one thereby be killed, it is 
not merely man-slaughter, but it is murder, and the 
law assigns the reason that such conduct is an expres- 
sion of malignity against all mankind ; and even if 
he give loud warning, and yet it be in a place where 
many persons usually pass, and one be killed, it is 
man-slaughter, and is punishable by the laws." 



THE SIXTH COMMANDMENT. 



415 



The same principle was incorporated into the law 
of Moses, Ex. xxi. 29. It is right. 

If these things be so, by what principle is he turned 
loose unpunished, who not only is careless about hu- 
man life, but who trains himself to the skilful use of 
deadly weapons that he may destroy it, meets a fel- 
low-creature by arrangement and takes away his life ? 
Divine law is no less loud and clear in its demands 
for the punishment of blood-shedding. This point 
will be argued at length in a succeeding section. 

PLEAS FOR DUELLING. 

In defence of duelling, it is sometimes pleaded 
that the practice is in accordance with a body of 
rules fit for the government of gentlemen, commonly 
called The Code' of Honour. 

Whenever a code is mentioned, we naturally ask 
for the enacting power. Who made the code of 
honour? God did not. All its principles are re- 
pugnant to his revealed will. Nor has any competent 
authority sanctioned them. Nearly all legislatures 
have condemned them. Yet some are so bold as to 
dignify them with the name of The Commandments, 
thus adding profaneness to other sins. 

Two of these Digests of the laws of crime are 
before us. A statement of even half their provisions 
would show their absurdity, their cruelty, and their 
wantonness. They are sufficiently bloody to satisfy 
the most diabolical malice. Even in America, some 
of their leading principles are these: Some insults 
cannot be compromised or settled without fighting. 
Words do not satisfy words, nor blows, blows. 
Seconds go armed to the field, first to shoot the ad- 



416 



THE SIXTH COMMANDMENT. 



versary of his principal, if he shall take any advan- 
tage ; and secondly, to keep the other second in order. 
If principals will not fight, seconds are to pronounce 
them cowards, and abandon them on the field. You 
are not bound to fight a minor, unless you have made 
a companion of him. You are bound to fight a re- 
spectable stranger. Seconds have absolute control 
after a challenge is given and accepted. Time may 
always be claimed to make a will. 

A code with such provisions is shockingly immoral. 
It violates all the charities of life. It tramples on 
the laws of God. It defies the statutes of the land. 
It reputes forbearance a weakness, and forgiveness a 
meanness. It exalts diabolical passions to a seat 
among the highest virtues. It puts revenge and 
murder above meekness and patience.' 

It is also full of absurdities. It places the 
aggressor and the aggrieved upon the same footing; 
or if the former be the best shot or the smallest 
mark, it gives him the advantage. If a man be 
injured and complain, by this code he may be com- 
pelled to lose his life and to write his wife a widow 
and his children fatherless. There is hardly an end 
to the absurdities which may be fairly drawn from its 
rules. 

This code is useless. It elicits no truth. It de- 
termines not who is innocent, and who is guilty. By 
common consent it proves no man brave; it seldom 
proves him a coward. It does not even prove one a 
good marksman or a good swordsman. In 1815, the 
English almost invariably killed the French officers 
with the sword. Yet the former were unskilled and 
the latter were experts in its use. Very often in our 



THE SIXTH COMMANDMENT. 



41T 



own land, the less skilful in the use of weapons has 
killed his adversary. 

This code is very bloody, not only in its laws, but 
also in its results. During the first eighteen years 
of the reign of Henry the Fourth, four thousand 
gentlemen perished by duels in France alone. In 
one hundred and seventy-two consecutive duels, sixty- 
three persons were killed, and ninety-six wounded — 
forty-eight of them desperately. This latter state- 
ment is made on the faith of an official paper prepared 
in England. A few years ago, four persons were 
killed in four successive duels in the same vicinity. 
This code smells horribly of blood. Why will men 
worship this modern Moloch? 

Some plead for the code of honour that it main- 
tains courage among men. True courage is indeed an 
enviable quality. But what is it ? Is it recklessness 
of life? Does it delight in blood? No man has true 
courage except so far as he is a good man. "The 
righteous are as bold as a lion, but the wicked flee 
when no man pursueth." Burke: "The only real 
courage is generated by the fear of God. He who 
fears God, fears nothing else." Addison: "Courage 
is that heroic spirit inspired by the conviction that 
our cause being just, God will protect us in its prose- 
cution." Seneca: "Courage is properly the con- 
tempt of hazards according to reason; but to run into 
danger from mere passion is rather a daring and 
brutal fierceness than an honourable courage." Pages 
from similar sources and to the like effect might be 
cited. The Duke of Sully, speaking of duels, says, 
" That which arms us against our friends or country- 
men, in contempt of all laws, as well divine as human, 



418 



THE SIXTH COMMANDMENT. 



is but a brutal fierceness, madness, and real pusil- 
lanimity." True courage is calm, just, mild, firm, 
reasonable. To such a quality, good men do reverent 
obeisance. It is truth and justice sitting on a throne 
of virtue. It has no malignity. It never thirsts for 
vengeance. 

But is the duellist brave after his bloody work? 
Is he not timid, nervous, melancholy? Does he not 
often seem to anticipate the pains of hell? A dread- 
ful sound is in his ears. A good writer says, " How 
fares it with him in the court of conscience? Is he 
able to keep off the grim arrests of that? Can he 
drown the cry of blood, and bribe his own thoughts 
to let him alone? Can he fray off the vulture from 
his heart, that night and day is gnawing his heart, 
and wounding it with ghastly and amazing reflec- 
tions?" 

Shall we award to such a system the meed of 
honour f The demand can never be granted. 
Humanity and God forbid it. Honour is a sacred 
thing. Honour is not lawless, is not cruel, delights 
in the approbation of the good, and abhors the inflic- 
tion of misery. Honour is humane, generous, tender- 
hearted. Honour casts from her even her own rights, 
when insisting on them does a great wrong to others. 
Honour never willingly mingles the tears of widows 
and orphans with the blood of husbands and fathers. 
Honour looks at the things of others, bows to the 
majesty of law, listens to the conclusions of reason, 
and obeys the voice of God. 

Can any thing be done to arrest this evil? Yes! 
Public sentiment can rectify it. Good laws can be 
enacted, Good men can execute them. A few years 



THE SIXTH COMMANDMENT. 



419 



since, the Justices of the Supreme Court of the 
United States were invited by a committee of the 
House of Representatives to attend the funeral of one 
of that body. "After mature deliberation" they 
adopted the following: 

"Resolved, That the Justices of the Supreme 
Court entertain a high respect for the character of 
the deceased, sincerely deplore his untimely death, 
and sympathize with his bereaved family in the heavy 
affliction which has fallen upon them. 

" Resolved, That with every desire to manifest 
their respect for the House of Representatives, and 
the Committee of the House, by whom they have 
been invited, and for the memory of the lamented 
deceased, the Justices of the Supreme Court cannot, 
consistently with the duties they owe to the public, 
attend in their official characters the funeral of one 
who has fallen in a duel. 

" Ordered, That these proceedings be entered on 
the minutes of the Court, and that the Chief Justice 
enclose a copy to the chairman of the committee of 
the House of Representatives." 

If all good men and all public functionaries would 
show like mildness and firmness, like sympathy for 
the suffering, and like determination not to swerve 
from duty, there would soon be a change. 

Let mothers teach their sons that killing in a duel 
is murder. Let wives soothe their irritated husbands 
and assert their rights not to be left mourning widows. 
Let young ladies discountenance the gallants who 
come into their society reeking with blood. Let the 
press and the pulpit utter just and solemn notes of 
remonstrance. 



420 



THE SIXTH COMMANDMENT. 



Is any tempted to commit this sin ? Here are good 
answers, any one of which is sufficient to justify him 
in declining. 

Thou shalt not kill. The Almighty. 

It is the glory of a man to pass over a trans- 
gression. Solomon. 

I AM NOT AFRAID OF FIGHTING, BUT I AM AFRAID 

OF sinning. Colonel Gardiner. 

I NEITHER AM, NOR WISH TO BE A MURDERER. 

A Modern G-entleman. 



'Tis hard, indeed, if nothing will defend 

Mankind from quarrels but their fatal end ; 

That now and then a hero must decease, 

That the surviving world may live in peace. 

Perhaps at last close scrutiny may show 

The practice dastardly, and mean, and low ; 

That men engage in it, compell'd by force, 

And fear, not courage, is its proper source ; 

The fear of tyrant custom, and the fear 

Lest fops should censure us, and fools should sneer, 

While yet we trample on our Maker's laws, 

And hazard life for any or no cause. Cowper. 

VIII. MURDER. 

All men admit murder to be a crime. Nor do they 
doubt that it is a fearful crime, even when attended 
with the fewest aggravations. None but the divine 
Lawgiver is competent to decide on the heinousness of 
any sin as against himself. No mortal is capable of 
telling all the bearings of any sin in a moral govern- 
ment that has no end. But murder is an offence so 
obviously atrocious that man can judge somewhat of 
its mischievous effects in this life. It is the strongest 
expression of malignity against our fellow-creatures. 
It is commonly the result of pride, or cruelty, or 



THE SIXTH COMMANDMENT. 



421 



avarice, and always of impiety. It supposes a long 
process of hardening the heart and indulging wicked 
passions. 

But even the temporal consequences of murder are 
fully known to God only. Every man sustains rela- 
tions to his family, his country, and the universe, 
which no finite mind can gauge. Then every life is 
worth untold millions to its possessor. Both in 
Hebrew and Greek the same word is rendered life and 
soul. And, indeed, the connection between them is 
such that the loss of the former may be the loss of 
the latter. The murder of an unregenerate man, for 
ever puts him beyond the reach of renewing grace 
and pardoning mercy. 

In speaking of duelling, murder has been suffi- 
ciently defined. 

Within the last half century, unusual opposition 
to the capital punishment of murder has been mani- 
fested in many quarters. Against it forms of ex- 
pression full of railing and bitterness are frequently 
employed. One cries out against the orthodox Chris- 
tian world : " The gallows and the gospel, Christ and 
the hangman." Those who deny eternal punishment 
seem particularly anxious to have the death penalty 
abolished. An ex-president of the United States, 
some years since, declared for the abolition of capital 
punishments. Some legislatures have fallen in with 
the popular error. 

Has God settled this question ? Our appeal is 
to his word. " Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man 
shall his blood be shed." Gen. ix. 6. This command 
was not given to the Jews, but to Noah, the second 
universal father of the human race. It is limited to 

36 



422 



THE SIXTH COMMANDMENT. 



no time or nation. It lias never been repealed. A 
wholesome law ought to continue while the reason for 
it continues. That is given in these words : " For in 
the image of God made he man." So that killing 
man is a very different thing from killing any other 
creature. It is a despising of God, whose natural 
image every man bears. To murder a man is to blot 
out this image of God. This interpretation of this 
law is agreed upon by Rivet, Le Clerc, Selden, Gro- 
tius, Michaelis, Rosenmuller and numerous other 
eminent scholars. 

Nor is this the only instance in which God has ex- 
pressed his will. The command to Noah was given 
sixteen hundred and fifty-seven years after the crea- 
tion. Nine hundred and fifty-six years later, God 
ordained judicial regulations for the Jewish common- 
wealth. Into that code he incorporated these ex- 
plicit teachings. " He that smitethaman so that he die, 
shall surely be put to death." And to show that no 
refuge was to be allowed him, God adds, " Thou shalt 
take him from my altar that he may die." Ex. xxi. 
12, 14. A year afterwards, God said again to Moses, 
" He that killeth any man shall surely be put to 
death." Lev. xxiv. 17. Thirty-eight years later, 
God gave minutely the law of murder and man- 
slaughter, provided for the trial of all charged with 
either crime, gave particular rules according to which 
* sentence was to be given, repeatedly stated that mur- 
derers should be put to death. This law is the basis 
of the laws of most Christian countries on this subject. 
It reads thus : "If a man smite any person with an 
instrument of iron, so that he die ; he is a murderer : 
the murderer shall surely be put to death. And if he 



THE SIXTH COMMANDMENT. 



423 



smite him with throwing a stone, wherewith he may- 
die, and he die ; he is a murderer : the murderer shall 
surely be put to death. Or if he smite him with a 
hand-weapon of wood, wherewith he may die, and he 
die ; he is a murderer : the murderer shall surely be 
put to death. The revenger of blood himself shall 
slay the murderer ; when he meeteth him, he shall 
slay him. And if he thrust him of hatred, or hurl at 
him by lying of wait, that he die ; or in enmity smite 
him with his hand, that he die : he that smote him 
shall surely be put to death : for he is a murderer : 
the revenger of blood shall slay the murderer, when 
he meeteth him. Whoso killeth any person, the mur- 
derer shall be put to death by the mouth of witnesses : 
but one witness shall not testify against any person 
to cause him to die. Moreover ye shall take no 
satisfaction for the life of a murderer, who is guilty 
of death : but he shall be surely put to death. And 
ye shall take no satisfaction for him that has fled to 
the city of his refuge, that he should come again to 
dwell in the land, until the death of the priest. 
So ye shall not pollute the land wherein ye are : for 
blood it defileth the land ; and the land cannot be 
cleansed of the blood, that is shed therein, but by the 
blood of him that shed it. Defile not therefore the 
land which ye shall inhabit, wherein I dwell : for I 
the Lord dwell among the children of Israel." Num. 
xxxv. 16-34. A clearer revelation of God's mind and 
will could not be made. Nor is this any ceremonial 
regulation. It is the wisdom of God expressed to a 
famous people for the guidance of their conduct in 
criminal proceedings. These laws given by God were 
carefully executed by the best kings, that ruled over 



424 THE SIXTH COMMANDMENT. 

that people. By the command of Solomon, Joab was 
put to death, even while holding fast to the horns of 
the altar ; for he had killed two innocent men, 44 more 
righteous and better than he." 1 Kings ii. 28-34. 
This case is the more remarkable as Joab had ren- 
dered eminent military services to the country. 

Again, God expressly says, " A man that doeth 
violence to the blood of any person shall flee to the 
pit; let no man stay him." Prov. xxviii. 17. The 
same doctrine is taught by Christ : 44 All they that 
take the sword shall perish with the sword." Matt, 
xxvi. 52. This saying was a proverb among the Jews. 
Its import was precisely the same with that of the 
words : " Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall 
his blood be shed." The meaning is, he who, under 
a government of laws, takes the sword into his own 
hand, for private revenge, and slays a man, shall him- 
self be put to death by the sword of public justice. 

The same is taught by Paul. Of the civil magis- 
trate, he says : " He is the minister of God to thee 
for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid ; 
for he beareth not the sword in vain ; for he is the 
minister of God, the revenger to execute wrath upon 
him that doeth evil." Rom. xiii. 4. It is true that 
this passage does not confine capital punishment to 
the case of murder. But none will deny that if the 
death penalty should be inflicted on any, it should be 
on the wilful murderer. The sword in this passage 
clearly points to death, as it was used for behead- 
ing. 

The apostle admitted the correctness of the same 
doctrine, in his argument before Festus. 44 If I be an 
offender, or have committed anything worthy of 



THE SIXTH COMMANDMENT. 



425 



death, I refuse not to die," Acts xxv. 11 ; thus clearly 
implying that there were crimes properly punished 
with death; and that, if proven on the apostle, he 
would admit the justice of the death penalty against 
himself. 

And in the very last book of Scripture, we have 
the same doctrine taught : " He that killeth with the 
sword, must be killed with the sword." Rev. xiii. 10. 
It is true this passage is not a precept, but a predic- 
tion respecting the doom of bloody persecutors, who 
are wholesale murderers. Yet it is a prophecy which 
Jehovah has caused and will ever cause to be wonder- 
fully fulfilled. Let bloody tyrants beware how they 
shed the blood of innocent men ; for He that is 
higher than the highest regardeth. With an awful 
vengeance, even in this life, he commonly marks so 
heinous sin. Often in providence does u the Lord 
come out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the 
earth for their iniquity ; the earth also shall disclose 
her blood, and shall no more cover her slain." Isa. 
xxvi. 21. Thus speak the Scriptures. 

The general consent of mankind in all ages and 
under all dispensations since the flood, would lead to 
the same conclusion. Blackstone : " Murder is a 
crime at which human nature starts, and which is, I 
believe, punished almost universally throughout the 
world with death." (L. 4, ch. 14.) The consent of 
mankind approaches as near universality on this as 
on any other subject. Perhaps as few men have held 
that murder should not be punished with death, as 
have professed their belief that there was no God. 
The force of the argument is this : When men in 
every variety of circumstances, civilized and un- 
36 * 



426 THE SIXTH COMMANDMENT. 

civilized, rude and refined, Jews, Mohammedans, 
Christians and Pagans, have generally agreed to any 
principle and acted upon it, its propriety is manifest. 
There has never been a mistake amongst mankind of 
all descriptions, on any moral subject so wide-spread- 
ing as the opinion that murder should be punished 
with death. 

The experiment of sparing the lives of murderers 
has been fully tried. The world is now considerably 
less than six thousand years old. Yet for the first 
sixteen centuries and a half, capital punishment was 
not inflicted. In his adorable sovereignty, God made 
a great experiment, beginning in the family of Adam. 
The first man ever born was a murderer — the mur- 
derer of his own brother. He was constantly ap- 
prehensive of death. " It shall come to pass that every 
one that findeth me shall slay me." Gen. iv. 14. But 
God sacredly guarded his life, and threatened dread- 
ful vengeance on any who should touch him. Gen. iv. 
1.5. His punishment was expulsion from the visible 
church, expressed by the words, " He went out from 
the presence of the Lord," Gen. iv. 16 ; together 
with his own reflections and the remorse of his con- 
science. Did his mental anguish and expulsion from 
the congregation of the righteous deter men from 
murder ? No. Lamech soon followed his example, 
saying to his wives : "I have slain a man to my 
wounding, and a young man to my hurt. If Cain 
shall be avenged seven fold, truly Lamech seventy 
and seven fold." Gen. iv. 23, 24. Nor did the thing 
stop here. Men went from bad to worse, until " the 
earth was filled with violence." Gen. vi. 11. The 
wickedness of man grew so rapidly that God swept 



THE SIXTH COMMANDMENT. 



427 



from the face of the earth every breathing thing ; 
those saved in the ark alone excepted. And no 
sooner had Noah come out of the ark, and become 
heir of the new world, than God enacted that hence- 
forth murder should be capitally punished. 

Nor do the lessons of history stop here. The 
Jewish commonwealth, in some form or other, ex- 
isted for more than fifteen hundred years. Whenever, 
in the kingdom of Judea, the magistrates were faith- 
ful in punishing murder with death, peace and pros- 
perity succeeded. But whenever they became remiss 
in this matter, the nation groaned in misery. 

One of the States of America, (Michigan) about 
the middle of the nineteenth century, abolished cap- 
ital punishment. The Grand Jury at Detroit, in 
1852, under the solemnities of an oath said : " The 
increase of the crimes of murder and manslaughter, 
since the abolition of capital punishment, not only 
among us, but throughout our State, has become most 
manifest and alarming. The records of the courts 
of this County show that at each of the four terms, 
there has been at least one aggravated case of mur- 
der — and at one term two cases. Whereas, previously 
to the existing law, no conviction of murder had ever 
been had by any of the courts of the State. These 
facts we regard as a proof of an alarming disrespect 
for, and undervaluing of human life, legitimately 
referable to a change of the legislation upon this sub- 
ject." 

However men may fortify themselves with plausi- 
ble arguments in favour of a sickly philanthropy, yet 
so exceedingly outrageous and shocking are some of 
the crimes which are committed, that it requires, not 



428 THE SIXTH COMMANDMENT. 

an ardent love of truth and commendable firmness, 
but an obstinacy of temper to stand up and say, 
they ought not to be punished with death. For a 
crime of deep dye, a man was sentenced to confine- 
ment, in a penitentiary, for a term of years. His 
treatment was mild. His tasks were moderate, and 
yet in cold blood he killed a kind and faithful officer. 
What would sickly philanthropists do in this case ? 
Would they have him sentenced to the penitentiary? 
He was already there. Would they sentence him for 
life ? How many faithful keepers might lie kill be- 
fore the law would assert its majesty in behalf of 
the lives of turnkeys and wardens ? Abolish the 
penalty of death, and trustworthy men could not be 
found to keep our prisons. Abolish capital punish- 
ments, and mankind will return to the old practice of 
avenging blood. 

Some have argued respecting capital punishment 
upon entirely false principles. Some assert that 
punishment can be justified only upon the ground of 
the right acquired by society, when men enter into 
that state, to prevent an evil-disposed person from re- 
peating an offence. Others say that the only justifi- 
cation of punishment is found in the hope that the 
criminal may thereby be reformed. Others say that 
the right to punish is based upon the obligation of 
society to deter those, who have not yet offended, by 
exhibiting examples of the misery of criminals. Yet 
others contend that all punishment is merely for re- 
paration, and should be of such a kind as to gain that 
end. Some have laid down all these as the founda- 
tions of punishment. Let us look at these state- 
ments. 



THE SIXTH COMMANDMENT. 



429 



It is admitted that some of the fore-mentioned 
things are occasionally gained by punishment. But 
neither severally nor jointly are they the ground on 
which it proceeds. If the right to punish is based 
upon the obligation of society to prevent an evil-dis- 
posed person from repeating an offence, none wil 
deny that capital punishment gains that end, and puts 
it quite out of the power of the culprit again to dis- 
turb society. So that the mere admission of this 
principle would be no argument for the total aboli- 
tion of the death penalty. But this statement of the 
matter does not furnish a principle sufficiently broad 
to cover every case of punishment. Some sentences 
are but light and temporary. They bear no propor- 
tion to the strength of men's passions for doing wrong. 
Yet severer penalties would by all enlightened men 
be esteemed excessive. But the great objection to 
this principle is, that it makes a man suffer, not for 
what he has done, but for fear he will hereafter do 
something wrong. He asks his country, "Why do 
you restrain my liberty ?" The reply is, "We are 
afraid you will injure men if you are allowed to go 
at large." This reply suits the case of a man re- 
strained under a writ of lunacy, or subjected to 
quarantine, no less than that of the culprit. He sees 
no justice in the case. He asks if society is not 
afraid that some men, going at large, will commit as 
great offences as himself ; and the community must be 
very small, in which men could not be found, of 
whose future good conduct there was as little guaranty 
as of his. Some of the worst men in every country 
are going at large. Mere prevention therefore is not 
the basis of punishment. 



430 



THE SIXTH COMMANDMENT. 



Nor is the reformation of the criminal the ground 
of punishment. Incidentally it may sometimes be 
effected ; and if in crimes of a lower grade one mode 
of punishment is found more conducive to reformation 
than another, and the ends of government can all be 
secured, that mode should be preferred. But who 
gave society a right to imprison men in order to re- 
form them ? No such grant of power is anywhere 
found. Surely God never gave it. When he would 
rescue men from vice and sin, it is by his blessed 
gospel. Besides, if society punishes only that she 
may reform bad men, then as soon as they are re- 
formed they ought to be discharged. Would this be 
proper ? And if reformation be the ground of pun- 
ishment, then all penal sentences ought to be indefi- 
nite as to time, and the punishment should last until 
the reformation is effected. Universalists urge this 
point with great zeal. Their chief argument is, that 
all suffering, under the government of God, is for the 
good of the sufferer, and that therefore the same prin- 
ciples should obtain in human society. But the argu- 
ment is false. All suffering under God's government 
is not for the good of the sufferer. What benefit 
have the fallen angels ever reaped from their chains 
of darkness ? What blessing has ever come on the 
Sodomites for their suffering the vengeance of eternal 
fire ? When Paul says that " all things work together 
for good," he limits the statement to " them that love 
God, to them who are the called according to his pur- 
pose." To such it is a glorious truth that their afflic- 
tions do them eternal good. But where is the like 
declared concerning them that hate God and are or- 
dained to a fiery condemnation ? 



THE SIXTH COMMANDMENT. 



431 



And even if reformation were the ground of punish- 
ment, no man, before the judgment-day, can certainly 
know that capital punishments for high crimes are not 
preceded by as many conversions to God and 
thorough reformations as any other modes of punish- 
ment whatever. We have inspired authority for 
believing that one man publicly executed for his crimes 
was truly penitent. Doubtless there have been 
others. But do not our wisest men confess that our 
penitentiaries are seldom, if ever, places of penitence ? 

Neither is the utility of example to others any 
ground for punishing a man. Punishment may deter 
some men from crimes ; but it may be seriously ques- 
tioned whether even this influence is not greatly over- 
estimated. It has become proverbial, that punish- 
ments so inflicted as to afford a spectacle, have in 
many cases a hardening effect. Be this as it may, 
when did society acquire the right of punishing one 
man for the good of others ? If it has such a right, 
why may it not exhibit the innocent in a posture of 
shame and under false accusation, for the benefit of 
the public ? 

Nor is reparation the ground of punishment. If in 
cases purely civil, where no felony is charged, this is 
the great end of punishment, yet in the case of mur- 
der, reparation is wholly and absolutely impossible. 
No tears, no repentance, no toils, no sacrifice of 
worldly goods can restore life to the murdered 
man, or the husband and father to his bereaved 
family. 

The true ground of punishment is Justice. The 
penalty of law is to be inflicted because it is right. If 
the murderer deserves death ; if his guilt is so enor- 



432 



THE SIXTH COMMANDMENT. 



mous that no other punishment is adequate ; if God 
has pronounced death the proper penalty ; if criminals 
themselves, whenever their consciences are awakened 
and enlightened, do acknowledge the justice of their 
sentence ; then we have a sure foundation on which 
to vindicate our laws. Justice, eternal inflexible jus- 
tice is the sole ground of the right of punishment. And 
it is ground enough. " Whoso sheddeth man's blood, 

BY MAN SHALL HIS BLOOD BE SHED." 

IX. INTEMPERANCE. 

Modern usage has almost confined the word intem- 
perance, unless otherwise explained by the connec- 
tion, to the excessive use of intoxicating drinks. In 
this sense let us consider it for a little while. 

No form of vice is more contrary to the true spirit 
of the sixth commandment, and none brings more 
misery on society. Its sweep is wide and fearful. 
Every profession and every community have fur- 
nished victims to this destroyer. The annals of this 
miserable vice are written in blood. Its statistics rise 
high and tell us of hundreds of thousands of drunk- 
ards and of hundreds of thousands more reduced to 
pauperism or seduced to crime by intemperance. 
They tell us of millions of gallons of intoxicating drink 
annually consumed. For every hour in the year it is 
calculated that at least one drunkard passes to the 
retributions of eternity. 

Nor is intemperance in any case a slight evil. To 
its subjects it brings complicated forms of disease, and 
pains of the most excruciating character. "Who 
hath woe ? who hath sorrow ? who hath contentions ? 
who hath babbling? who hath wounds without cause? 



THE SIXTH COMMANDMENT. 



433 



who hath redness of eyes? They that tarry long at 
the wine; they that go to seek mixed wine." Prov. 
xxiii. 29, 30. 

Loss of integrity frequently attends intemperance. 
Little by little the inebriate loses his once sacred re- 
gard to truth, to contracts, to promises and all en- 
gagements. At the same time, the fatal stab is given 
to the best and kindliest sentiments of the heart. 
Petulance and irritability supplant love and tender- 
ness. Self-respect commonly dies early in this ca- 
reer, and the inebriate begins to herd with the de- 
graded. Reputation cannot long stand such assaults, 
and by degrees public esteem and confidence are with- 
drawn. In his sober moments, the drunkard's bosom 
will be wrung with anguish. Shame, remorse, and 
the darkness of guilt are followed by the perishing of 
hope. He deplores his dreadful captivity, but has 
neither courage, nor expectation of bursting its bonds. 
Loss of property commonly follows close on the heels 
of other evils. While intemperance does not always 
lead its victims to the commission of crimes, yet more 
than three-fourths of all the felonies in the land are 
traceable to this source. 

The worst thing attending intemperance is its di- 
rect and invariable tendency to destroy both soul and 
body in hell. "Be not deceived ; neither fornicators, 
nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor 
abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor 
covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortion- 
ers, shall inherit the kingdom of God." 1 Cor. vi. 9, 
10. For the impenitent, unreformed drunkard, there 
is no salvation. God has determined that matter al- 
ready. True, the context of the passage just cited 
37 



\ 



434 



THE SIXTH COMMANDMENT. 



shows that drunkards may be converted : " Such 
were some of you," says Paul to the Corinthians. 
But how seldom does the drunkard turn to God. 
When the direct tendency of a sin is to make the 
whole man sottish and even less than a man, how fee- 
ble is the hope we can entertain that he will turn and 
live. The case of the drunkard is very discouraging. 
It is hard to convince him either of his sin or his danger. 
He is full of confidence in his own strength. He is 
persuaded that the meltings of nature, which he some- 
times feels, are a sign that all is not lost. His con- 
science is seared ; his understanding is terribly dark- 
ened. Numbers of such die, giving fearful evidence 
to the last that they were wholly impenitent. 

Nor are the evils of this sin confined to him who 
drinks. Others come in for a large share. The 
father, who had begun to recline on his son ; the 
mother, who "thought that she had borne a man;" 
the wife, who had dreams of earthly happiness ; the 
sisters, who had once been proud as they saw his manly 
bearing, all now find that honour is forsaking him, 
and that their hopes must soon perish. His children 
and servants are often filled with terror at his ap- 
proach. He is no longer the kind and judicious friend 
of the poor, the widow and the orphan. He is a pest 
to his neighbourhood. His will might read thus : "I 
give and bequeath to society a ruined character, a 
wretched example, and a memory that shall rot. I 
give and bequeath to my parents, shame, sorrow and 
(so far as I am concerned) a childless old age. I give 
and bequeath to my brothers and sisters, deep morti- 
fication at the mention of my name. I give and be- 
queath to my wife, a broken heart, an early widow- 



THE SIXTH COMMANDMENT. 



435 



hood, a shattered constitution, poverty and an early 
grave. I give and bequeath to each of my children, 
penury, ignorance, and the remembrance that they 
had an unnatural father." 

Multiply all these evils by hundreds of thousands 
and you will have something like the true result. 
But there are other evils of a general nature con- 
nected with intemperance. Time is wasted. Prisons 
are multiplied. Taxation is greatly increased. 
Property is destroyed ; the elective franchise bought 
and sold ; justice perverted ; idleness fostered ; riots 
encouraged ; life jeoparded ; and morality and reli- 
gion made to bleed. Hell follows in its train. He 
who indulges in wine and strong drink shall find that 
" at the last it biteth like the serpent, and stingeth 
like the adder:" yea, "he shall be as one that lieth 
down in the midst of the sea, or as he that lieth upon 
the top of ajnast," Prov. xxiii. 32, 34. 

Where the population is crowded, the statistics of 
this sin are most appalling. When London had a 
population of 2,350,000 souls, it had a total of 471,- 
000 persons steeped in crime, demoralization and vice; 
of whom 180,000 were habitual hard drinkers. The 
vices of the rest were akin to this. 

All these evils are quite unnecessary. Strong drink 
laid aside, all the affairs of life would move on better 
than they do. The strongest man noted in history 
never tasted such stimulants. 

In certain cases alcoholic drinks are proper for 
medicinal purposes. " Give strong drink unto him 
that is ready to perish, and wine unto those that 
be of heavy hearts." "Drink no longer water, but 
use a little, wine for thy stomach's sake and thine of- 



436 THE SIXTH COMMANDMENT. 

ten infirmities," Prov. xxxi. 6 ; 1 Tim. v. 23. Medi- 
cal skill, or our knowledge of our own constitutions 
must determine when we need such aid to our health. 
In all other cases, the consciences of men are left free 
to abstain if they choose. The principle of voluntary 
abstinence is not new. By solemn vows, the Naza- 
rites were bound to it. John the Baptist never drank 
wine. For thousands of years the Bechabites have 
been wholly abstinent. Every generation furnishes 
such cases. 

It is said, .on good authority, that one of the petty 
kingdoms of Africa has never permitted the introduc- 
tion of intoxicating drinks, and while surrounding 
kingdoms are torn with intestine wars, and are sink- 
ing under the power of many evils, among which are 
the usual attendants of intemperance, this kingdom 
remains quiet, industrious and prosperous. Kidnap- 
ping and the slave-trade are unknown. 

The Scriptures give very awful warnings against 
seducing men into this vice. " Woe to him that build- 
eth a town with blood. Woe unto him that giveth 
his neighbour drink, that puttest thy bottle to him, 
and makest him drunken also, that thou may est look 
on their nakedness. . . . The cup of the Lord's 
right hand shall be turned unto thee, and shameful 
spewing shall be on thy glory." Hab. ii. 12, 15, 16. 
" Woe to him that covet eth an evil covetousness to 
his house, that he may set his nest on high, that he 
may be delivered from the power of evil ! Thou hast 
consulted shame to thy house by cutting off many peo- 
ple, and hast sinned against thy soul. Tor the stone 
shall cry out of the wall, and the beam out of the tim- 
ber shall answer it," Hab. ii, 9-11, 



THE SIXTH COMMANDMENT. 



43T 



X. THE LOW ESTIMATE OF HUMAN LIFE. 

Perhaps there never was a century in which man- 
kind have been more disposed to think, and speak, 
and act, as if human life were a trifle, than the pre- 
sent. This remark is fearfully true of the country 
in which this volume is likely to be most read. In 
his Thanksgiving sermon, preached Nov. 24, 1853, 
Rev. H. A. Boardman, D. D., says: "It is scarcely 
a figure to say that the history of many a steamboat 
and rail road line, in the Union, has been written in 
blood. The statistics would probably show, that a 
greater number of travellers perish by these agencies 
in our country, than in all the rest of the civilized 
world combined. An accident which destroys a 
single human being, or three or four, is nothing 
thought of. Even those which involve the destruc- 
tion of scores of lives produce but a temporary ripple 
in the current of public feeling, and are presently 
forgotten. Men are allowed to erect buildings which 
may tumble down of their own frailty, and bury a 
crowd of inmates beneath their ruins. Steamboats 
of such fragile construction are permitted to navigate 
our tempestuous lakes and dangerous sea-coast, that 
there is less to wonder at when we hear that they 
have gone down into the abyss, with a load of pas- 
sengers, than when they survive a storm of ordinary 
violence. Conductors and engineers may whirl their 
crowded trains into other trains, down precipices, and 
into drawbridges ; and superintendents and boards of 
management may so frame their arrangements as 
almost to insure the frequent recurrence of these dis- 
asters, without exposing themselves to any adequate 
37 * 



488 



THE SIXTH COMMANDMENT. 



penalties. Homicides are rapidly multiplying ; but, 
with occasional exceptions, justice is slow in securing 
the murderers, and slower still in convicting and 
punishing them. Society has so far reverted towards 
its primitive condition, that even in our older States, 
the practice has become common of carrying deadly 
weapons, and avenging affronts, real or imaginary, 
with instant death. The generation of young men 
now coming forward in our cities, seem to think it 
manly to wear dirks and pistols, and to use them on 
the slightest provocation. Approximating to savages 
in their equipments, they resemble them no less in 
the value they put upon human life. And if matters 
proceed much further in this direction, the shooting 
of a man will soon come to be looked upon as very 
little more than the shooting of a beast. If these 
practices were properly rebuked — if the force of law 
or of public sentiment were adequately employed to 
repress them — it might be inapposite to cite them in 
this connexion. But they meet with a degree of 
tolerance which indicates any thing but a just ap- 
preciation of their enormity on the part of the com- 
munity. 

"As the natural result of these things, the feeling 
of personal insecurity has become very general. The 
unavoidable hazards of travelling are so multiplied, 
that a journey is a source of incessant anxiety, from 
its commencement to its close, both to travellers 
themselves, and their friends and families. Even in 
traversing the streets of a metropolis, people feel that 
they are liable to plunge, inadvertently, into some 
unprotected pitfall, or to be crushed by having 
building-materials or bales of merchandise precipitated 



THE SIXTH COMMANDMENT. 



439 



upon them from above. Nor can thoughtful parents 
rid themselves of solicitude for the safety of their 
sons, lest they may some day be brought home to 
them 'in their blood,' victims to that fashionable code 
which makes every man the avenger of his own wrongs, 
and converts into a 'wrong' every hasty utterance or 
passionate gesture. 

"That this insensibility to the true value of life, is 
a mark of our imperfect civilization, is a humiliating 
truth which it were quite useless to deny. If there 
is any gauge by which the progress of a people from 
barbarism to refinement can be tested, it lies in the 

ESTIMATE THEY ATTACH TO HUMAN LIFE, and the 

pains which are taken to preserve and prolong it. 
If a nation fails in this point, the defect is one which 
admits of no compensation. It is idle to talk of its 
arts and arms, its literature and religion, its wise 
laws, its schools, its contented and thriving popula- 
tions, — if it holds human life at a cheap rate, the less 
it boasts of its cultivation the better. Other nations, 
certainly, will concede to it nothing beyond a second 
or third rate type of civilization, while it is dis- 
figured by one of the radical characteristics of bar- 
barism." 

This witness is true. Much innocent blood is 
shed. Violent deeds abound. One terrible tragedy 
follows another with rapidity. Lately seventeen 
murderers were executed in one day. Rencounters, 
assassinations, duels, suicides, and deliberate murders 
for revenge or for money, are reported with an 
alarming frequency. The cause of this deplorable 
state of things is to be found in human depravity. 
But why should this depravity now manifest itself, 



440 



THE SIXTH COMMANDMENT. 



in so unusual a degree, in this particular form? The 
following answers may not include all that should be 
said, but they point to some leading influences which 
have a fearful potency for evil. 

1. One fruitful source of crime has been the ex- 
pectation of impunity. Many have argued, some 
have legislated, and more have practised on the 
belief that no crime ought to be capitally punished. 
This has increased the hope of impunity, so that 
some have declared their belief that death would follow 
no crime. 

2. The country has been and is still flooded with 
books which mightily stir up all the principles of 
wickedness. Novels or narratives of fact have 
dressed up the burglar, the robber, the assassin, the 
duellist, the murderer, in gay colours, and held him 
forth to the youthful mind as a hero to be admired. 
These books are exceedingly common, are offered for 
sale in almost every train of cars, and are filling the 
pockets of thousands who never read any book suited 
to improve their morals. 

3. Very corrupt religious doctrines extensively 
pervade portions of the lower classes ; among them are 
Universalism, Deism, Spiritualism, and other infidel 
delusions. One who has for a long time visited 
prisoners in jails and penitentiaries, declares his 
belief that nine-tenths of our convicts disclaim the 
doctrine of eternal punishment. These maintain 
their doctrines with just such arguments as are 
heard from Universalist pulpits and infidel club- 
houses. 

4. The intemperate use of intoxicating drinks is 
terribly on the increase, especially among the classes 



THE SIXTH COMMANDMENT. 441 

who commit these bloody crimes. The liquors drunk 
are often terribly drugged. Reason is frequently 
dethroned. At all times the blood is overheated, or 
the temper roused, and so the poor victim of strong 
drink is kept ready for any thing. 

5. Gambling in its worst forms is also fearfully 
prevalent. It fosters the worst passions, and hard- 
ens the heart beyond almost all other vices. It 
has its schools and " hells " almost everywhere. 
Its leaders are among the most desperate men in the 
world. 

6. The practice of wearing side-arms, now so com- 
mon, is a great provocative of blood-shedding. It 
makes men familiar with the instruments of death, 
and so diminishes their horror of blood-shedding. It 
awakens apprehension that another is armed, and so 
leads to a speedy resort to these weapons in case of 
any difficulty. 

7. Of all the causes of every species of crime, none 
is more prolific than Sabbath desecration. This has 
always been so. It must always be so in Christian 
countries ; for the reason that it is a deliberate sin, 
preceded by thought and a conflict, in which the 
award is in favour of renouncing moral restraint. 
An under-sheriff of London lately bore the following 
testimony: "My office has enabled me to confirm 
the value of the Sabbath, there being scarcely a 
criminal, whether for death or minor punishment, 
who was not daily confessing to me in Newgate, 
that he considered his first fall, and subsequent 
misery, to be owing to the violation of that blessed 
day." 

Other causes doubtless concur with those already 



! 



442 THE SIXTH COMMANDMENT. 

mentioned, but they would probably have little power, 
if those above named were removed. Let good 
men all over the land reflect, confer, pray, and 
act as duty requires in the present solemn crisis 
in the public morals. 



xi. intolerance and persecution. 

Every man has a pope in him — Luther. 

Intolerance is the parent of persecution. It refuses 
to let others alone, if they differ from us in views or 
sentiments. It takes a very wide scope in this re- 
spect. Galileo was persecuted for his views on 
science. Whately well remarks that if his cotempo- 
raries could have answered his arguments, they would 
not have persecuted his person. No little of this in- 
tolerance is still manifested even among some modern 
philosophers. To differ from them is to incur their 
scorn and their ill-will. 

Another matter on which men are intolerant is 
the subject of politics. How often does the vehe- 
mence of partisans rise to vituperation and deadly 
malice. Men are proscribed for utterances which 
are as honest and as harmless as any held by their 
adversaries. 

But religious doctrine and worship have for many 
ages furnished the ground of the bitterest intolerance. 
It ought exceedingly to warn those, who are inclined 
to be bitter towards others for difference of religious 
belief or practice, that there is no unerring judge of 
truth and error upon earth, and that none have more 
egregiously erred than those who have made the high- 
est pretensions to ability to discriminate between 
truth and error. Gregory Nazianzen says that he 



THE SIXTH COMMANDMENT. 



443 



never saw a good end of any council and declared that 
he was resolved never to attend another. Luther 
says of the first and best of General Synods that 6 he 
understood not the Holy Ghost to speak in it.' Beza 
says that such was the " folly, ignorance, ambition, 
wickedness of many bishops in the best times, that you 
would suppose the devil to have been president in their 
assemblies." John Owen says, " I should acknowledge 
myself obliged to any man that would direct me to a 
council, since that mentioned in Acts xv., which I may 
not be free from the word of God to assert, that it, in 
something or other, went astray." The awful challenge 
of Scripture is, " Who art thou that judgest another 
man's servant ? To his own master he standeth or 
falleth." Rom. xiv. 4. Who but God is competent 
to decide on the aims, hopes, fears, desires, convic- 
tions, failings, darkness, misapprehensions and invin- 
cible prejudices of men ? Oh that men had the spirit 
of Salvian, when he said of some of his cotemporaries, 
" They are heretics, but know it not ; heretics to us, 
but not to themselves : nay, they think themselves so 
catholic, that they judge us to be heretics ; what they 
are to us, that are we to them : they err, but with a 
good mind, and for this cause God shows patience 
towards them." 

One of the saddest things attending this spirit is 
that intolerance begets intolerance, and persecution, 
persecution. 

No doubt this evil has existed from the first. But 
it comes to the Western World through Pagan Rome, 
which admitted no worship and no doctrine but such 
as was established and approved by those who claimed 
authority in such matters. This was the ground of 



444 



THE SIXTH COMMANDMENT. 



that great clamour, made at Philippi respecting the 
preaching of Paul and Silas : " They teach customs 
which it is not lawful for us to receive, neither to 
observe, being Romans." Acts xvi. 21. 

Nor has there been any thing new uttered for cen- 
turies in favour of intolerance. The defence of it, 
made as early as the time of Augustus Caesar was, 
that " They, who introduced new deities draw many 
into innovations, from which arise conspiracies, sedi- 
tions, conventicles, in no wise profitable for the com- 
monwealth." The other great ground of defence of 
persecution was that the worship of new gods was a 
dishonour and a provocation to those already wor- 
shipped, and thus they sent calamities upon the 
people. 

It is a fact worthy of note, that persecution has 
never been raised against any man or people, whose 
opinions or practices have been fairly dealt with by 
adversaries. This is illustrated on almost every page 
of the history of spiritual despotism. Owen says, 
" The course accounted so sovereign for the extirpa- 
tion of error, was first invented for the extirpation 
of truth." The same author long since gave the 
challenge to the world in offering to prove that " in 
sundry Christian provinces more lives had been sacri- 
ficed to the one idol, Hceretieidium, of those who bear 
witness to the truth in the belief for which they suf- 
fered, than all the heretics properly so-called, that 
ever were slain in all the provinces of the world, by 
men professing the gospel." As much has been ad- 
mitted by many. Even persecutors have at times 
admitted the faultless character of their victims. 
Louis XII., with all his bitterness against the people 



THE SIXTH COMMANDMENT. 



445 



of Mirindol, said : " Let them be heretics, if you 
please, but assuredly they are better than I and my 
Catholics." Thus far in the history of persecution 
generally, the " punished have been far better than 
the punishers." 

Nor has persecution checked the progress of any 
thing but truth. Many a time has it been confessed 
that so far from suppressing heresy by the sword and 
fagot, it has thereby been exceedingly spread and es- 
tablished. When a man's followers honour him in 
his life as a saint, they count him a martyr as soon 
as you shed his blood. The fact is, that where heresy 
in religion exists, it is a spiritual disease, and so 
ought to have a spiritual remedy. The Christian 
church, for more than three centuries after the ascen- 
sion of her Lord, neither knew nor thought of the 
carnal weapons of intolerance for the extirpation of 
wrong opinions or wrong practices in religion. John 
fled the bath where Cerinthus was found ; Marcion re- 
proved a great errorist in strong terms ; Irenseus says 
he would have no intercourse with heretics ; Cyprian 
says, "Neither eat, nor talk, nor deal with them ;" 
Ignatius says : " Count them enemies, and separate 
from them who hate God ; but for beating or persecut- 
ing them, that is proper to the heathen who know not 
God, nor our Saviour; do not you so." Constantine 
said : " This is most certain, that this is conducing to 
the peace of the empire, that free option and choice 
of religion be left to all." How terribly God has 
followed persecutors with his sorest judgments, can 
be seen in Jortin's remarks on Church History, in 
the fifteenth volume of Owen's Works, p. 229, and 
indeed in many other writings. 
38 



446 



THE SIXTH COMMANDMENT. 



One good, not sought by persecutors, has been 
brought out of their cruel practices. It has given 
God's people an opportunity to illustrate the true 
character of a Christian. What Cowper says of 
Bunyan is as true of some others. 

He loved the world that hated him ; the tear 
That dropp'd upon his Bible was sincere j 
Assail'd by scandal and the tongue of strife 
His only answer was a blameless life ; 
And he that forged, and he that threw the dart, 
Had each a brother's interest in his heart : 
Paul's love of Christ, and steadiness imbibed, 
Were copied close in him and well transcribed. 
He follow'd Paul ; his zeal a kindled flame, 
His apostolic charity the same. 

After pagan Rome lost its power, papal Rome took 
up the trade of intolerance and persecution in the 
most fearful manner. In the Apocalypse, John speaks 
of that corrupt communion thus : "I saw the woman 
drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the 
blood of the martyrs of Jesus." Rev. xvii. 6. That 
the Church of Rome is in her fixed principles and 
uniform practice intolerant and cruel, is as easily 
proved as any other proposition. The creed of Pope 
Pius IV., issued Dec. 1564, after the decrees of the 
Council of Trent, and sworn to by every clergyman 
in that communion, contains these sentences : "I 
acknowledge the holy catholic and apostolical Romish 
' church, to be mother and mistress (Magistram) of all 
churches ; and I promise and swear true obedience to 
the Roman Pontiff, successor of the blessed Peter, 
Prince of the Apostles, and Vicar of Jesus Christ. 

" Also, all other things handed down, defined and 
declared by the sacred canons and general councils, and 



THE SIXTH COMMANDMENT. 



447 



chiefly by the most holy of Trent, I undoubtingly re- 
ceive, profess, and, at the same time, all things con- 
trary, and all heresies whatever condemned, rejected, 
and anathematized, I, in like manner, condemn, reject, 
and anathematize. And this true Catholic faith, out 
of which no one can have salvation, which at present 
I voluntarily profess and truly hold, I, the said A. 
B., promise, vow, and swear," &c. Here we have a 
clear and full declaration that all protestants and their 
children sink down to perdition. 

The oath taken by every Roman Catholic Bishop 
contains, among other things, this sentence : " Haeret- 
icos, schismaticos, et rebelles, eidem domino nostro, 
vel successoribus prsedictis pro posse persequor et im- 
pugnabo:" i. e., "Heretics, schismatics, and rebels, 
to our said Lord, or his aforesaid successors, I will to 
my power persecute and oppose." 

In the year 1582, there was published at Rheims, 
a copy of the New Testament, with various notes, &c. 
This work, in several editions, has been frequently 
approved, sanctioned and published, by various Romish 
bishops. Here are some of the notes : " The in- 
sufficient and pretended church service of England — 
being in schism and heresy, is not only unprofitable, 
but also damnable." " If the temple of the Jews was 
a den of thieves, because of profane and secular mer- 
chandize ; how much more now, when the house ap- 
pointed for the holy sacrifice and sacrament of the 
body of Christ is made a den for the ministers of 
Calvin's bread." " The prayers and services of 
heretics are not acceptable to God out of their mouths ; 
yea, are no better than the howling of wolves." " A 
Christian is bound to burn and deface all heretical 



448 



THE SIXTH COMMANDMENT. 



books." "The translators of the English Protestant 
Bible ought to be abhorred to the depths of hell." 
" Justice and vigorous punishment of sinners is not 
forbidden, nor the church, nor the Christian princes 
blamed for putting heretics to death." " There never 
was any heresy so absurd, but it would seem to have 
Scripture for it." " To say that an heretic, evidently 
known to die obstinately in heresy, is damned, is not 
forbidden." "Where heretics have unluckily been re- 
ceived for fear of troubling the state, they cannot be 
suddenly extirpated — the weeds must grow while the 
church obtains power, then eradicate them from the 
soil." " The zeal of a Catholic ought to be so great 
towards all heretics and their doctrines that he should 
give them the curse, — the execration, — the anathema, 
— though they were never so dear to him, — though 
they were his parents." 

Dens and Liguori fully confirm the whole spirit of 
this teaching. 

On the Thursday before Easter, in every mass- 
house in the world, where service is conducted, un- 
less public sentiment restrains the priest, there is 
read the Papal Bull, entitled In Coena Domini. The 
second clause of this Bull contains the excommunica- 
tion of all Hussites, Wiclifites, Lutherans, Zuinglians, 
Calvinists, Huguenots, Anabaptists, Trinitarians, 
and other apostates from the faith ; and all other 
heretics, by whatsoever name they are called, or of 
whatever sect they be," &c, &c. 

The sixth paragraph utterly curses all the civil 
powers, who impose new taxes without the consent of 
the Roman court. 

The twentieth begins thus : " We excommunicate 



THE SIXTH COMMANDMENT. 449 



and anathematize all and every, the magistrates, 
judges, notaries, &c, who intrude themselves in cap- 
ital or criminal causes against ecclesiastical persons, 
&c." A more shamelessly wicked, cruel, and malignant 
document was probably never sent forth to the world. 

The phrase anathema sit — let him be accursed, — 
occurs more than one hundred and twenty times in 
the canons and acts of the council of Trent. Paul 
said, " Bless, and curse not," Rom. xii. 14. But 
Borne thunders forth her curses on all hands. She 
sends forth as bitter anathemas against those who do 
not believe all the falsehoods and absurdities found in 
the Apocrypha, as against those who reject the Gos- 
pels. She as horribly curses one, who does not be- 
lieve marriage to be a sacrament, as one who does 
not believe baptism to be a sacrament. With her, 
every dogma is fundamental ; every principle essen- 
tial. 

Here are some of the decisions of the canon law : 
" The Roman faith destroys all heresy and tolerates 
none." " The Roman church admits no heresy, for 
the Catholic religion must be kept without spot." 
" It is permitted neither to think nor to teach other- 
wise than the court of Rome directs." " He who is 
separated from the church can neither have his sins 
pardoned, nor can he enter the kingdom of heaven." 
/'Heretics may be excommunicated after death." 
The object of this canon was the confiscation of pro- 
perty by the church. Many a time the bones of the 
dead have been exhumed and burned in fulfilment of 
this horrible doctrine. When jackals dig up the 
dead, it is to fulfil the law of their animal nature. 
" The property of heretics must be confiscated for the 
38 * 



450 



THE SIXTH COMMANDMENT. 



good of the church." "Advocates and notaries, who 
defend heretics, or assist them by writings or deeds, 
shall be adjudged infamous, and deprived of their 
office." " They who are bound to heretics are released 
from every obligation." " Statute laws of the civil 
power, by which inquisitors of heresy are impeded or 
prohibited are null and void." " Heretics shall not 
be interred in ecclesiastical ground." 

How fearfully these wicked principles have been 
carried out, history records. At least two millions 
of Jews and fifty millions of Protestants are sup- 
posed to have perished by the hand of this cruel 
power. The Duke of Alva, in a short time hanged 
and beheaded eighteen thousand Protestants, besides 
thousands put to death by his ruffian soldiery. 

At the command of Pope Paul III., twenty-four 
villages were burnt to ashes, and thousands of per- 
sons, men, women and children murdered. It is sup- 
posed that not less than one million of Waldenses 
have suffered death to gratify Romish bigotry and 
cruelty. St. Bartholomew's day, in 1572, will be 
ever memorable in France. It was the time fixed for 
the indiscriminate butchery of Protestants. It swept 
away seventy thousand people in the space of a few 
hours. The Dublin University Magazine for June, 
1842, contains an account of a copy of a medal or- 
dered by the Pope to be struck in commemoration of . 
this shocking wholesale murder. But enough of these 
horrible annals. Let all men express their detesta- 
tion of all persecution and intolerance. God abhors 
them. 1 Cor. xiii. 1-8. Jesus Christ prayed for 
even his murderers. 



THE SIXTH COMMANDMENT. 



451 



XII. HARD-HE ARTEDNESS, AC, &C. 

Besides the things already noticed, it is clear that 
this commandment in its spirit and scope forbids and 
condemns hard-heartedness to the suffering poor, 
Matt. xxv. 42, 43, Jas. ii. 15, 16; all immoderate 
passions, Jas. iv. 1; oppression of every kind, Isa. iii. 
15; devotion to carnal pleasures, Eccl. xi. 9; overtax- 
ing the bodily powers of ourselves or others, Eccl. iv. 
8 ; Ex. ii. 28, 24 ; excess in food or drink, Luke xxi. 
34 ; Prov. xxiii. 20, 21 ; in short all that tends to dis- 
turb the peace of persons, families or communities, 
Rom. xiv. 19 ; 2 Tim. ii. 22 ; or needlessly to shorten 
human life, Prov. xxviii. 17. 



452 THE SEVENTH COMMANDMENT. 



CHAPTER XXL 
THE SEVENTH COMMANDMENT. 

THOU SHALT NOT COMMIT ADULTERY. 

IT is both man's crime and misery that he often 
acquires a habit of thinking lightly of the most 
weighty and serious things. Such levity is not re- 
concilable with wisdom towards ourselves, or duty to- 
wards God. It generates recklessness and impetuos- 
ity of character. It banishes those solemn and salu- 
tary thoughts which are essential to sound discretion. 
It is still worse when we learn so to think and speak 
of matters of great moment as that the introduction 
of them is a temptation to impurity of thought. The 
consequence is, that we often find sadness where we 
looked for joy, and wretchedness where we supposed 
peace had her abode. 

These remarks apply with great force to almost all 
topics belonging to the seventh commandment. Such 
is the state of the public mind that it is exceedingly 
difficult to write or speak on any of them without giv- 
ing offence to some, or occasion of evil thoughts to 
others. Still here stands this great commandment. 
A right understanding of it is essential to the welfare 
of society. If any one shall be injured in his nicest 



THE SEVENTH COMMANDMENT. 453 

feelings by the discussion proposed, it shall be his 
own fault. 

It is convenient to the plan of discussion proposed 
to begin with considering the subject of 

MARRIAGE. 

True, many smile and some lose sobriety of mind, 
whenever they think, or hear, or speak on this sub- 
ject. But surely the matter is solemn, and deserves 
our gravest thoughts-. It is not indeed a melancholy 
theme, a doleful matter ; and so we may bring to the 
study of it all our vivaciousness, as well as great 
earnestness. 

I. The first thing which claims our attention is the 
nature of the institution. 

Marriage is a solemn and perpetual covenant be- 
tween one man and one woman to live together in the 
most affectionate and endearing state of social exist- 
ence known upon earth. 1. It is a covenant. Such 
is the language used respecting it in nearly all the 
Christian forms of its solemnization, as well as in 
Holy Scripture, Prov. ii. 17. 2. It is a solemn cove- 
nant. With the exception of the engagements by 
which a man binds his soul to the service of God, 
there is no other covenant of more solemnity. 3. This 
covenant is of perpetual obligation, as long as the par- 
ties live. Exceptions to this remark will be stated 
hereafter. Other covenants may be set aside, some- 
times by mutual consent, sometimes by the payment 
of a specified penalty, and sometimes by casualties, 
rendering fulfilment impossible ; but this cannot even 
be weakened, much less destroyed in this manner. 
Without a high crime, in one party subverting the 



454 THE SEVENTH COMMANDMENT. 




very design of marriage, death only can release the 
other party. Whoever lawfully and properly enters 
the state of marriage intends that it shall be for life. 

4. This covenant is between one man and one woman. 
All good laws insist upon this. This was the form of 
the institution in Paradise. Jesus Christ has taught 
us that the law of Eden is still of binding force, Matt, 
xix. 3-9. The laws of the land wisely enforce the 
same principle. Bigamy and polygamy deserve to be 
severely punished, as high immoralities, tending to the 
rapid destruction of society and of the commonwealth. 

5. This covenant binds the parties to live in the 
most affectionate and endearing state of social existence 
known upon earth. All other relationships give place 
to this. It takes precedence of the tie of parent and 
child. So that from the first, the infallible rule of 
marriage required a man to forsake father and 
mother, and to cleave unto his wife. By parity of 
reason, the woman is to forsake her parents and cleave 
to her husband. Both human and divine laws regard 
husband and wife as in an important sense one. 
Blackstone says, they " are one person in law, so 
that the very being and existence of the woman is 
suspended during the coverture, or entirely merged, 
or incorporated in that of the husband." Dr. John- 
son says : " Marriage is the strictest tie of perpetual 
friendship, and there can be no friendship without 
confidence, and no confidence without integrity ; and 
he must expect to be wretched, who pays to beauty, 
riches, or politeness, that regard which only virtue 
and piety can claim." The divine lawgiver settles 
the question in a few words : " They shall be one 
flesh." 



THE SEVENTH COMMANDMENT. 



455 



Some persons far removed from all sickly sensi- 
bility never witness the solemnization of a marriage 
without strong emotion. Behold that noble, generous 
young man, full of energy, courage and magnanimity. 
He has sincerely plighted his troth. He would not 
hesitate a moment to step in between his loved one 
and the stroke of death, and thus save her from all 
harm. By his side stands " a lovely female clothed 
in all the freshness of youth, and surpassing beauty. 
. . . In the trusting, the heroic devotion, which 
impels her to leave country, parents, for a compara- 
tive stranger, she has launched her frail bark upon 
a wide and stormy sea. She has handed over her hap- 
piness and doom for this world, to another's keeping. 
But she has done it fearlessly, for love whispers to her, 
that her chosen guardian and protector bears a manly 
and a noble heart. Oh woe to him that forgets his 
oath and his manliness. We have all read the story 
of the husband who in a moment of hasty wrath said 
to her who had but a few months before united her 
fate to his, — " If you are not satisfied with my con- 
duct, go, return to your friends and your happiness." 
" Can you give me back that which I brought to you?" 
asked the despairing wife. " Yes," he replied, " all 
your wealth shall go with you; I covet it not." 
" Alas," she answered, "I thought not of my wealth 
— I spoke of my devoted love ; can you give that back 
to me?" " No!" said the man, as he flung himself 
at her feet. " No ! I cannot restore that, but I will 
do more — I will keep it unsullied and untainted ; 
— I will cherish it through my life, and in my 
death ; and never again will I forget that I have sworn 



456 THE SEVENTH COMMANDMENT. 



to protect and cherish her, who gave up to me all she 
held most dear." 

II. The marriage state is honourable. For ages 
the wise and good of all countries have bestowed upon 
it high commendations. Hooker says : " The bond 
of wedlock hath been always, more or less, esteemed 
of as a thing religious and sacred. The title, which 
the very heathen themselves do thereunto oftentimes 
give, is, holy." Dr. Johnson: "Marriage is the 
best state for man in general, and every man is a 
worse man, in proportion as he is unfit for the mar- 
riage state." Addison: " Two persons, who have 
chosen each other out of all the species, with design 
to be each other's mutual comfort and entertainment, 
have in that action bound themselves to be good- 
humoured, affable, discreet, forgiving, patient and joy- 
ful with respect to each other's frailties and imper- 
fections to the end of their lives." John Newton says : 
" Marriage has been, and is, to me, the best and dear- 
est of temporal blessings. . . . Long experience and 
much observation have convinced me, that the mar- 
riage state, when properly formed and prudently con- 
ducted, affords the nearest approach to happiness, 
(of a merely temporal kind) that can be attained in 
this uncertain world, and which will best abide the 
test of sober reflection." 

Our Creator has dignified this state by legislating 
upon it under every dispensation of his government 
over men. In Eden — before man was a sinner — in 
the Hebrew commonwealth as organized by Moses, 
and under the reign of Messiah, marriage has been 
regulated, guarded and honoured by solemn enact- 
ments, the whole tenor of which was to raise it high 



THE SEVENTH COMMANDMENT. 



457 



in the esteem of men. When Christ was upon earth, 
he wrought his first miracle at a marriage in Cana of 
Galilee, which he graced with his presence. Lest 
there should remain a shadow of a doubt in the human 
mind, God has declared by an inspired apostle that 
" Marriage is honourable in all." Heb. xiii. 4. 
On this clear, unequivocal teaching of inspiration, we 
may rest the defence of the honourableness of mar- 
riage in all classes and conditions of life, high and 
low, lay and clerical. 

III. Yet this institution has long been assaulted 
by ignorant and wicked men. Various apostates 
from the truth of God have made war upon it. 
Christ's apostles predicted the appearance of men 
who should " depart from the faith, giving heed to 
seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils, speaking lies 
in hypocrisy, having their conscience seared with a 
hot iron, forbidding to marry, &c." 1 Tim. iv. 1-3. 
Accordingly, there early arose men, who exerted all 
their power against this great bulwark of virtue. 
Irenaeus tells us that Saturninus and Marcion led the 
way in this unholy assault. These were followed by 
the sect of the Encratites, founded by Tatian. They 
openly taught, as Epiphanius informs us, that "mar- 
riage was the work of the devil." Augustine says, 
these errorists " would admit no married person into 
their society." The Apostolici, or Apotactici, held 
the same views, and arrogantly denied all hope of 
salvation to such as were married, or would not grant 
a community of goods. Augustine tells us that the 
Manichees also condemned marriage and prohibited 
it as far as they could. "The Severians and Archon- 
tici held the same views. Some of their teachings 
39 



458 THE SEVENTH COMMANDMENT. 




were cruel and brutal. They said that " woman her- 
self was the work of the devil." After these arose 
Hierax, whose followers took their name from him. 
He taught that marriage belonged only to the Old 
Testament institutions ; since the coming of Christ it 
was no longer lawful ; and that no married person 
could obtain the heavenly kingdom. Augustine says 
that they " admitted none but monks and nuns, and 
such as were unmarried into their communion." 
Still later arose Eustathius, bishop of Sebastia, who 
said that " no one who lived in a married state could 
have any hope in God." This man had many follow- 
ers. Since his time we have had hosts of errorists, 
who have held that there was a holier state than that 
of virtuous wedlock. So confident and plausible have 
been these empirics, that in almost every age they 
have had some followers, male and female. 

It is one of the gross inconsistencies of Popery 
that while, contrary to Scripture, it elevates marriage 
to the grade of a sacrament, it also, in the teeth of 
God's word, enjoins universal celibacy upon the clergy, 
and builds its prisons all over the world, where it locks 
up free-born females, white and black, who, under the 
force of superstitious fears and hopes, have been in- 
duced to take the vow of single life. But for all this 
there is not one word of divine authority. By the 
constitution of the J ewish commonwealth, the tribe of 
Levi was placed under the law of marriage just as 
were the other tribes. The son succeeded the father 
in his sacred functions. Nor was the doctrine of 
universal celibacy of the clergy known among the 
apostles. Both during and subsequently to our Lord's 
residence on the earth, Peter was the husband of one 



THE SEVENTH COMMANDMENT. 



459 



wife. The evangelists tell us that Peter's wife's mo- 
ther lay sick of a fever, Matt. viii. 14 ; Mark i. 30 ; 
Luke iv. 38. Many years after Christ's ascension, 
Paul says, " Have we not power to lead about a sis- 
ter, a wife, as well as other apostles, and as the 
brethren of the Lord, and Cephas?" 1 Cor. ix. 5. 
Peter and others of the apostles were married men. 
The evidence is clear. Paul also gives us the law re- 
specting the marriage of pastors : "A bishop then 
must be blameless, the husband of one wife, one that 
ruleth well his own house, having his children in sub- 
jection with all gravity." 1 Tim. iii. 2, 4. The Greek 
church interprets this phrase so strictly that she re- 
quires all her pastors to be married men, and she al- 
lows them to be married but once during life. And 
if the wife die, the pastor ceases to exercise any func- 
tion in the church. The Romish church interprets it 
only by contradicting it. She allows none of her 
pastors to have even one wife. The Protestant doc- 
trine is that this passage permits pastors to be mar- 
ried, but not to practise polygamy. This is doubt- 
less the sense of this Scripture. 

There have arisen various founders of infidel com- 
munities, which have attacked this institution. The 
history of Robert Dale Owen of Lanark, of Frances 
Wright, and of their compeers and imitators, is be- 
fore the world, illustrating, as all such attempts must 
do, the truth that material dishonour to marriage, as 
ordained by God, will subvert any community, and 
make life wholly undesirable. 

An eminent patriot, philosopher, statesman and di- 
vine of this country, who signed the Declaration of 
Independence, has said : " Nothing can be more con- 



460 



THE SEVENTH COMMANDMENT. 



trary to reason or public utility than the conversation 
of those who turn matrimony into ridicule. Such 
act in direct and deliberate opposition to the order 
of Providence, and to the constitution of the society 
of which they are members. The true reason why 
they are borne with so patiently is, that their wicked 
attempts are unavailing. But if we are to estimate 
the malignity of a man's conduct or sentiments, not 
from their effect, but from their native tendency and 
his inward disposition, it is not easy to imagine any- 
thing more criminal than an attempt to bring mar- 
riage into disesteem." 

If men will indulge in satire, let them select some 
ridiculous or mischievous opinion or practice as a 
theme for merriment. But let them not amuse them- 
selves by attempting to desecrate or destroy one of 
the best institutions Heaven has given to mortals. 

IV. Marriage is the source of many blessings. 
These may be divided into three classes. The first 
relate to the parties themselves ; the second to the 
church of God ; and the third to mankind in general. 
1. Marriage is of great value to the parties them- 
selves. It is an old saying that " marriage sobers 
even the soberest." Whatever cures men's antics 
and frivolities is so far useful. Marriage greatly 
diminishes the sorrows and augments the enjoyments 
of those who are fitly united. This is a world of 
much unhappiness. Human life is possessed only at 
the cost of many pains and sorrows. It is true that 
in deep affliction God alone can give efficient help and 
succour. Blessed be his name ! His ear is ever open 
to the cry of the humble. But in nearly all our woes, 
it is an unspeakable relief to have an earthly friend, 



THE SEVENTH COMMANDMENT. 461 

to whom, in the sacredness of confidence, and with the 
perfect assurance of sympathy, we may unbosom our 
griefs. The Son of God himself, when in tribulation, 
did not disdain to call for sympathy. To his disci- 
ples he said, " What, could ye not watch with me 
one hour?" Matt. xxvi. 40. There is no human being 
so elevated in character, so independent in resources, 
as not to need the confidence and sympathy of some 
of the race. Most men admit that in her feebleness, 
timidity and delicate sensibility, woman, like the ivy, 
needs a support, that she may not be tossed about by 
every adverse wind, nor trodden down by the rude 
and the strong around her. A little reflection will 
convince us that the rougher sex also needs soothing 
and sympathy. Man spends most of his waking hours 
in severe studies, in exhausting toils, in grappling 
with great difficulties, and in enduring the asperities 
of many coarse and malignant persons. To him, 
how consoling it is to know that there is one spot, his 
own fireside, and one sanctuary, the heart of his 
faithful wife, where all is calm and kind. Every vir- 
tuous husband, who has a virtuous wife, has often re- 
turned home, pressed down, almost beyond endurance,; 
with cares and anxieties, dreading an almost sleep- 
less night. Yet in an hour, the love of his wife and 
the prattle of his little ones have made him blithe, 
and reassured him before he was again called to buffet 
the storms of life. In accordance with this view, 
Jehovah said : " It is not good that the man should 
be alone; I will make Mm an help meet for Mm." 
Gen. ii. 18. While wives need the care and even the 
caresses of husbands, they are themselves invaluable 
helps to their partners. 
39* 



462 



THE SEVENTH COMMANDMENT. 



The married pair in many ways help each other. 
They give mutual counsel in perplexity ; they afford 
to each other the hest and safest society ; they 
are the surest guardians of each other's interests ; and 
they rejoice in each other in a manner unknown in 
any other relation of life. 

We are here met by the fact often alleged that 
some marriages are not happy, and that here and 
there the parties are very miserable. It would be 
worse than idle to deny that some husbands and some 
wives are extremely unhappy on account of their 
matrimonial relations. But does not candour require 
the admission that many unmarried persons are ex- 
tremely unhappy ? Besides, some matches are made 
merely for the purpose of securing a fortune, or some 
family distinction. In this case the person married 
is taken as a means to an end. The object is to 
make an acquisition of name or money. Could the 
same end be gained free from any incumbrance, it 
would be much preferred. Others in the choice of a 
wife regard only personal beauty. That beauty is a 
desirable quality no man of sense or taste will deny. 
But that in value it is not comparable to intelligence, 
good temper, industry, truthfulness, or any of the 
virtues, is clear to all except the silly. It should 
also not be forgotten that as some very beautiful 
flowers have thorns, so it is with some beautiful 
women. The flattery heaped on handsome women 
often greatly injures their dispositions. Besides, 
beauty is a flower that fades, in many cases early, 
and so all that was loved vanishes away. No one 
need be surprised at such marriages ending in misery. 
Erasmus : " Love that has nothing but beauty to keep 



THE SEVENTH COMMANDMENT. 



463 



it in good health, is short-lived, and apt to have ague 
fits." 

In other cases there is a total dissimilarity of taste, 
habit, sentiment, and even principle. The man is 
refined and his wife coarse. Some say that a lady 
may love a man quite inferior in breeding, because 
she may improve him. But a gentleman cannot love 
one whose tastes are much inferior to his own. And 
the wife is so much secluded that commonly she 
cannot after marriage materially improve her mind 
or manners. What chance of permanent solid happi- 
ness is there for husband and wife, where one loves 
the ball-room, and the other the sanctuary? or one 
is ever seeking society, and the other loves home ? 
" How can two walk together except they be agreed?" 
Some points of dissimilarity do not impair the happi- 
ness of a marriage; but where the substantial ele- 
ments of character are diverse, there cannot be con- 
nubial bliss. Under the Jewish law an ass and a 
heifer might not be put to work at the same plough. 
Utter unsuitableness is a sure foundation for matri- 
monial misery. Another bane of married life is 
found in intemperance, not always confined to the 
stronger sex. It is utterly impossible that any 
virtuous woman should be happy with a drunken 
husband. Her very love will torment her. 

It may be said that most unhappy marriages are 
brought about either by rashness, by refusing good 
counsel, by marrying to please some third party, by 
being actuated by wrong motives, or by being moved 
by senseless impulses and fancies, or by failing to 
look to God in humble supplication for heavenly 
guidance. Revelation well says: "A prudent wife 



464 



THE SEVENTH COMMANDMENT. 



is from the Lord." How many look every or any- 
where else but to the Lord in such matters ! 

The subject of unhappy marriages has claimed the 
attention of many writers. Witherspoon says that 
the number of unhappy marriages is greatly over- 
estimated ; and that we do but deceive ourselves when 
we suppose others unhappy, because we should be so, 
if placed in their circumstances. This remark is 
entitled to great weight. 

Dean Swift assigns another reason for unhappy 
marriages, viz. the want of the stronger and more 
enduring excellences in some females. He says : 
"The reason why so few marriages are happy, is 
because young ladies spend their time in making nets, 
not in making cages." Dr. Johnson says: "When 
we see the avaricious and crafty taking companions 
to their tables, and their beds, without any inquiry 
but after farms and money ; or the giddy and thought- 
less uniting themselves for life to those whom they 
have only seen by the light of tapers ; when parents 
make articles for children without inquiring after their 
consent; when some marry for heirs to disappoint 
their brothers ; and others throw themselves into the 
arms of those whom they do not love, because they 
have found themselves rejected where they were more 
solicitous to please ; when some marry because their 
servants cheat them; some because they squander 
their own money; some because their houses are 
pestered with company ; some because they will live 
like other people; and some because they are sick of 
themselves, we are not so much inclined to wonder 
that marriage is sometimes unhappy, as that it 
appears so little loaded with calamity ; and cannot 



THE SEVENTH COMMANDMENT. 



465 



but conclude, that society has something in itself 
eminently agreeable to human nature, when we find 
its pleasures so great that even the ill choice of a 
companion can hardly overbalance them. Those, 
therefore, of the above description, that should rail 
against matrimony, should be informed, that they are 
neither to wonder, or repine, that a contract begun 
on such principles has ended in disappointment." 
This may suffice for the unhappiness of marriages. 

2. Marriage is eminently conducive to the in- 
terests of the church of God. When properly 
regulated by Christian laws and when properly 
entered into and regarded, it shuts out many and 
nameless evils, evils everywhere condemned in Scrip- 
ture, evils always subversive of thrift, good order, 
quietness and harmony in society. The name of 
these evils is Legion, for they are many. They are 
secret and they are open — they torment man and 
they provoke God. They are insidious and they are 
impudent. Some of them lead to the utter subver- 
sion of States, and all of them impair both bodily and 
mental energy — waste the health — deprave morals — 
pollute the mind and banish religion, pure and un- 
defined, from any community where they obtain a 
footing. So that an attempt to introduce the gospel 
among a people where such things prevail would be 
as discouraging as to preach the gospel with the worst 
forms of idolatry and the iron laws of Hindoo caste 
to oppose its progress. But the prevention of these 
dire evils is not nearly all the good done to the cause 
of religion by marriage. For it is only in communi- 
ties where marriage is properly regarded, that we 
find ourselves able to make many of the most solemn 



466 THE SEVENTH COMMANDMENT. 

and moving appeals in behalf of virtue and piety. 
Who has ever listened to the calls given by the 
ministers of the gospel to husbands and wives, to 
parents and children, to brothers and sisters to pray 
and labour for each other's salvation, or to come, and 
go with the pious members of their own families to 
their promised inheritance, and has not felt that here 
was a chord that might be made to vibrate in such a 
way that all, who were not "past feeling," must know 
its power? Moreover, where there is no marriage, 
there is no family religion. Children in all such 
cases grow up without proper education. They are 
not carried to the house of God and by the mild 
authority, kind instruction, and good example of both 
the parents, taught to revere the name and ordinances 
of Jehovah. The longer I live, and the more I see 
the operation of moral causes, the more am I con- 
vinced that next to the pulpit, if not before it, God 
designs to perpetuate his church and renovate the 
world by family religion, in the broad sense of that 
term. But where the institution and Christian law 
of marriage are despised and rejected, the domestic 
altar is never raised, except to sacrifice to devils. 
Indeed, according to Scripture, the great design of 
preserving marriage pure, between one man and one 
woman, was the propagation of true religion through- 
out the earth. So says the last of the Old Testa- 
ment prophets. "Did he not make one? ..... 
And wherefore one? That he might seek a godly 
seed. Therefore take heed to your spirit, and let 
none deal treacherously against the wife of his youth." 
Mai. ii. 15. 

3. The state, no less than the church, comes in for 



THE SEVENTH COMMANDMENT. 



467 



inestimable blessings flowing from this institution. 
If marriage is not properly guarded, population itself 
will dwindle away, even under the most favourable 
circumstances of soil, climate, and commerce. The 
fairest fields and the most thronged cities would in a 
very few generations become desolate and without in- 
habitants, if it were not for marriage. Carelessness 
of the health and lives of children, whose parents are 
not lawfully married, is so well established and so 
generally confessed, that it is enough to allude to it. 
Nor is this all. The real prosperity and solid wealth 
and resistless power of a nation do not depend upon 
splendid edifices and glittering crowns for the few ; 
but upon the industry, frugality, and thrift of the 
component parts of an empire. Families make em- 
pires. And where are the domestic and social virtues 
successfully taught and practised except in families, 
constituted by lawful marriage? Visit our alms- 
houses, our work-houses, our jails, our prisons of every 
description, yea, inquire into the history of the strol- 
ling beggars of the land, and what do you find ? 
Here and there is a case of virtuous misfortune. 
Here and there are the offspring of virtuous parentage ; 
but in an appalling number of cases, the persons are 
themselves those who have in some gross manner vio- 
lated the law of marriage, or are the offspring of pa- 
rents who have forgotten or failed to obey it. 

All men are born with an irksomeness under re- 
straint and government. Men by nature are averse 
to the controlling of their desires. Government is an 
artificial state, and yet with the present or any con- 
ceivable condition of society, it is necessary to man's 
well-being. The sooner he learns to obey just au- 



468 



THE SEVENTH COMMANDMENT. 



thority the better for him, the better for his country. 
Where then are the first and most useful lessons of 
obedience learned ? Not in the public assembly, not 
in the camp, not in the counting-room, not in the 
neighbourhood school, but in the family — the well- 
ordered family, where the joint and just authority of 
an honest father and mother subdue the will, and 
teach important lessons of self-denial. Nor can the 
state, in the absence of marriage, ever make adequate 
provision for educating the minds and manners of the 
young in any way promising much good. Hirelings 
have neither the patience, nor the tact requisite to 
develop in an advantageous manner the mental ener- 
gies of the young, as virtuous parents have. In short, 
look at this subject as we may, and we find the state 
deeply concerned to do all in its power to make mar- 
riage honourable, as God has made it, to guard it from 
all abuses, to keep the burdens of government light 
upon the lower classes, so that the industrious poor 
may not be prevented from entering the state of 
marriage at a proper time of life, and, above all, to 
punish with just severity every infraction of the 
wholesome laws made to defend the institution from 
perversion, contempt, or neglect. 

V. Let us dwell a little on the duties growing out 
of this relation. Love is the fulfilling of the law. 
This remark is peculiarly just in regard to the law of 
marriage. This love must be the result, not of ecsta- 
sies produced by a fervid imagination, but of the 
warm pulsations of an honest heart. Hooker never 
spoke more wisely of man than when he said : " That 
kind of love, which is the perfectest ground of wed- 
lock, is seldom able to yield any reason of itself." 



THE SEVENTH COMMANDMENT. 



469 



It must be founded in solid esteem. For this there 
is no substitute. The cares and sorrows of life are 
so numerous, the trials of temper so many, and the 
calls for forbearance so frequent, that unless there be 
ardent, and strong, and mutual affection, life will soon 
be a weariness. This love must not only be a senti- 
ment, it must be a principle. Then it will be abiding. 
It must not only be a principle, it must be a senti- 
ment. Then it will be warm and generous. It 
must be, 

"A friendship that like love is warm, 
A love like friendship steady." 

It is, therefore, an act of great cruelty in parents 
and friends to urge others to the formation of mar- 
riages, when there is wanting this fervent love. No- 
thing can make amends for deficiencies here. This 
is the root from which, under the divine blessing, grows 
up that tree of domestic happiness under whose shade 
myriads of households rejoice, and whose fruit is 
better than apples of gold. Prov. xv. 17. Love 
counts not its sacrifices. It gives all and would give 
more if it had more to give. This duty is often in- 
sisted on in Scripture. " Husbands, love your wives, 
and be not bitter against them." "Men ought to 
love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth 
his wife loveth himself." "Husbands, love your wives 
even as Christ also loved the church and gave himself 
for it." Eph. v. 25, 28; Col. iii. 19. Compare Eccl. 
ix. 9. Paul says that one of the duties incumbent on 
aged pious females is to "teach the young women to 
love their husbands." Tit. ii. 4. 

As the parties mutually owe to each other love, so 
do they fidelity in its highest sense. They are bound 
40 



4T0 



THE SEVENTH COMMANDMENT. 



sacredly and tenderly to regard each others' rights, 
and peace, and happiness. 1 Cor. vii. 5. Moreover, 
the husband owes to his wife protection to her person, 
reputation, health, and comfort. He never fulfils the 
duties of a husband, who leaves his wife to contend 
with the adversities of life and steps not forth with 
the whole strength of his arm to shield her. 

On the other hand, the wife owes to her husband 
reverence and obedience. On these the Bible insists. 
Eph. v. 22 ; Col. iii. 18 ; 1 Pet. iii. 1. And whether 
they were openly promised or not at marriage, they 
are enjoined by God and it is a sin to withhold them. 
The reverence and obedience required are not those 
of a servant, nor even those of a child, but of a com- 
panion, who is yet the weaker vessel. The woman is 
not the head of the man but the man of the woman. 
Adam was first formed, then Eve. 

Husbands and wives owe each other honour in their 
respective stations. No churl can be a good hus- 
band ; and no shrew, a good wife. 1 Sam. xxv. 17 ; 
Prov. xxi. 19, xxv. 24. When respect ceases, love 
and peace generally depart. Husbands and wives, 
who at all do their duties, are an honour to each 
other in fact. Prov. xii. 14, xxxi. 23 ; 1 Cor. xi. 7. 
But they are both commanded to aim at giving honour 
to each other. 1 Pet. iii. 6, 7. 

They should also endeavour in all lawful ways to 
please each other. 1 Cor. vii. 33, 34. 

Husbands and wives should tenderly sympathize 
with each other, and plead for each other, 1 Sam. i. 
8, xxv. 18-28. The husband should cultivate tender- 
ness. 



THE SEVENTH COMMANDMENT. 471 



BE GENTLE TO THY "WIFE. 

" Be gentle, for you little know 
How many trials rise ; 
Although to thee they may be small, 
To her of giant size. 



" Be gentle, though perchance that lip 
May speak a murmuring tone, 
The heart may speak with kindness yet, 
And joy to be thy own. 

"Be gentle; weary hours of pain 
'Tis woman's lot to bear; 
Then yield her what support thou canst, 
And all her sorrows share. 



'* Be gentle ; for the noblest hearts 
At times must have some grief, 
And even in a pettish word 
May seek to find relief. 

" Be gentle ; none are perfect here ; 
Thou'rt dearer far than life; 
Then husband, bear, and still forbear; — 
Be gentle to thy wife." 

And the wife should not be cold, but hearty in her 
endeavours to soothe and please. " It must be the 
best woman's lot in the world to bind up for the dear- 
est on earth the wounds which men have inflicted." 

VI. It is pleasing and not uninstructive to see how 
men of very diverse characters have felt their happi- 
ness increased by marriage. Calvin says of his wife, 
she was a woman of rare example. After her earthly 
career had closed, in lamenting her loss, he said of 
her : " I am separated from the best of companions, 
who if anything harder could have happened to me, 
would willingly have been my companion, not only in 
exile and in want, but also in death. While she lived, 
she was a true help to me in the duties of my office. I 



472 



THE SEVENTH COMMANDMENT. 



have never experienced from her any hindrance, even 
the smallest." 

The following letters passed between Mr. Winthrop, 
the first Governor of Massachusetts, and his wife, in 
1628. The reader will demand no apology for their 
insertion here. The wife writes first : 

" My most sweet husband : How dearly welcome 
thy kind letter was to me, I am not able to express. 
The sweetness of it did much to refresh me. What 
can be more pleasing to a wife than to hear of her 
best beloved, and how he is pleased with her poor en- 
deavours ? I blush to hear myself commended, know- 
ing my own wants. But it is your love that conceives 
the best, and makes all things seem better than they 
are. I wish that I might please thee, and that those 
comforts we have in each other may be daily increased, 
as far as they may be pleasing to God. I will use 
the speech to thee that Abigail did to David : 4 1 will 
be a servant to wash thy feet, my lord.' I will do 
any service wherein I may please my good husband. 
I confess I cannot do enough for thee, but thou art 
pleased to accept the will for the deed, and rest con- 
tented. 

" I have many reasons to make me love thee, 
whereof I will now name thee two. First, because 
thou lovest God ; and secondly, because thou lovest 
me. If these two were wanting, all the rest would 
be eclipsed. But I must leave this discourse and go 
about my household affairs. I am a bad housewife to 
remain so long away from them ; but I must needs 
borrow a little time to talk with thee a little, my 
sweetheart. I hope thy business draws to an end. 
It will be but two or three weeks before I see thee, 



THE SEVENTH COMMANDMENT. 



473 



though they be long ones. God will bring us together 
in his good time, for which time I shall pray. Fare- 
well, my good husband, the Lord keep thee. Your 
obedient wife, Margaret Winthrop." 

THE HUSBAND ANSWERS. 

" My good wife : Although I wrote thee but last 
week, yet having so fit an opportunity, I must write 
to thee again ; for I do esteem one little short letter 
of thine (such as the last one was) to be worthy two 
or three from me. 

" I began this letter yesterday at two o'clock ; think- 
ing to have been at large, but was so taken up with 
company and business as I could but get hither this 
morning. It grieves me that I have not liberty to 
make expressions of my love to thee, who art more 
dear to me than all earthly things ; but I will endea- 
vour that my prayers may supply the place of my 
pen, which will be of use to us both, inasmuch as the 
favour and blessing of God are better than all things 
beside. 

" I know that thou lookest for troubles here, and 
when one affliction is over to meet with another ; but 
remember our Saviour tells us, 6 Be of good comfort, 
I have overcome the world ;' therefore, my sweet 
wife, raise up thy heart, and be not dismayed with 
the crosses thou meetest in family affairs, or other- 
wise, but still fly to Him who will take up thy burden 
for thee. Go then on cheerfully in obedience to His 
will in the course He has set thee — peace shall come. 
I commend thee and all to the gracious protection of 
the Lord. 
40 * 



474 



THE SEVENTH COMMANDMENT. 



" Farewell, my good wife, I kiss and love thee, with 
the kindest affection, and rest thy faithful husband, 

John Winthkop." 

Sir James Mcintosh thus describes his deceased 
wife in a letter to a friend : 

" Allow me, in justice to her memory, to tell you 
what she was, and what I owed her. I was guided in 
my choice only by the blind affection of my youth. I 
found an intelligent companion, and a tender friend, 
a prudent monitress, the most faithful of wives, and 
a mother as tender as children ever had the misfor- 
tune to lose. I met a woman who by the tender man- 
agement of my weaknesses gradually corrected the 
most pernicious of them. She became prudent from 
affection ; and though of the most generous nature, 
she was taught frugality and economy by her love to 
me. During the most critical period of my life, she 
preserved order in my affairs, from the care of which 
she relieved me. She gently reclaimed me from dis- 
sipation ; she prompted my weak and irresolute na- 
ture ; she urged my indolence to all the exertions that 
have been useful or creditable to me, and she was 
perpetually at hand to admonish my heedlessness 
and improvidence. To her I owe whatever I am ; 
and to her whatever I shall be. In her solicitude for 
my interest, she never for a moment forgot my feel- 
ings or my character. Even in her occasional resent- 
ment, for which I but too often gave her cause (would 
to God I could recall those moments,) she had no sul- 
lenness nor acrimony. Her feelings were warm and 
impetuous, but she was placable, tender and constant. 
Such was she whom I have lost, and I have lost her 



THE SEVENTH COMMANDMENT. 



475 



when her excellent natural sense was improving, after 
eight years of struggle and distress had bound us fast 
to each other — when a knowledge of her worth had re- 
fined my youthful love into friendship, before age had 
deprived it of much of its original ardour, — I lost 
her alas ! (the choice of my youth, and the partner 
of my misfortunes) at a moment when I had a pros- 
pect of her sharing my better days." 

The following description was written by Burke 
and presented to Mrs. Burke on the morning of an 
anniversary of their marriage. It was evidently in- 
tended as a description of his wife. It was headed 

" The Character of Mrs. ." 

" I mean to give you my idea of a woman. If it 
at all answers an original, I shall be pleased ; for if 
such a person really exists, she must be far superior to 
my description, and such as I must love too well to be 
able to paint as I ought. 

" She is handsome, but it is beauty not arising from 
features, from complexion, or from shape ; she has 
all three in a high degree, but it is not from these 
she touches the heart ; it is all that sweetness of tem- 
per, benevolence, innocence, and sensibility, which a 
face cannot express, that forms her beauty. 

" She has a face that just raises your attention at 
first sight ; it grows on you every moment, and you 
wonder it did no more than raise your attention at first. 

" Her eyes have a mild light, but they awe you when 
she pleases ; they command, like a good man out of 
office, not by authority, but by virtue. 

" Her features are not exactly regular ; that sort 
of exactness is more to be praised than loved, for it 
is never animated. 



476 THE SEVENTH COMMANDMENT. 



" Her stature is not tall ; she is made to be the 
admiration of everybody, but the happiness of one. 

" She has all the firmness that does not exclude 
delicacy ; she has all the softness that does not imply 
weakness. 

" There is often more of the coquette shown in an 
affected plainness than in tawdry finery. She is al- 
ways clean without preciseness or affectation. Her 
gravity is a gentle thoughtfulness that softens the 
features without discomposing them. She is usually 
grave. 

" Her smiles are inexpressible. 

" Her voice is a low, soft music ; not formed to 
rule in public assemblies, but to charm those who can 
distinguish a company from a crowd ; it has this ad- 
vantage, you must come close to hear it. 

" To describe her body, describes her mind ; one is 
the transcript of the other. Her understanding is 
not shown in the variety of matters it exerts itself 
on, but in the goodness of the choice she makes. She 
does not display it so much in saying or doing strik- 
ing things, as in avoiding such as she ought not to 
say or do. 

" She discovers the right or wrong of things not 
by reasoning, but sagacity ; most women, and many 
good ones, have a closeness and something selfish in 
their dispositions; she has a true generosity of tem- 
per ; the most extravagant cannot be more unbounded 
in their liberality, the most cautious in their distribu- 
tion. 

" No person of so few years can know the world 
better ; no person was ever less corrupted by that 
knowledge. 



THE SEVENTH COMMANDMENT. 47T 



" Her politeness seems rather to flow from a dis- 
position to oblige than from any rules on that sub- 
ject, and therefore never fails to strike those who un- 
derstand good breeding and those who do not. 

" She does not run with a girlish eagerness into new 
friendships, which, as they have no foundation in 
reason, serve only to multiply and embitter disputes ; 
it is long before she chooses, but then it is fixed for 
ever, and the hours of romantic friendship are not 
warmer than hers after the lapse of years. 

" As she never disgraces her good nature by se- 
vere reflections on anybody, so she never degrades 
her judgment by immoderate or ill praises, for every 
thing violent is contrary to her gentleness of disposi- 
tion, and the evenness of her virtue. 

" She has a steady and firm mind, which takes no 
more from the female character than the solidity of 
marble does from its polish and lustre. 

" She has such virtue as makes us value the truly 
great of our own sex ; she has all the winning graces 
that make us love even the faults we see in the weak 
and beautiful of hers." 

Even the severe and scathing Reviewer, Lord 
Jeffrey, felt the softening, cheering power of a wife's 
love and presence. A few days after the death of 
his wife, he wrote to his brother thus : 

" Edinburgh, August 15, 1805. 

" My dear John : I am at this moment of all men 
the most miserable and disconsolate. It is just a week 
to-day since my sweet Kitty died in my arms, and 
left me without joy, or hope, or comfort in this world. 
Her health had been long very delicate, and during 
this summer rather more disordered than usual ; but 



478 THE SEVENTH COMMANDMENT. 



we thought it not serious, and looked forward to her 
complete restoration. She was finally seized with the 
most excruciating headaches, which ended in an effu- 
sion of water on the brain, and sank her into a lament- 
able stupor, which terminated in death. 

"It is impossible for me to describe to you the feel- 
ing of lonely and hopeless misery with which I have 
since been oppressed. I doted upon her, I believed, 
more than man ever did on a woman before ; and af- 
ter four years of marriage, was more tenderly at- 
tached to her than on the day which made her mine. 
I took no interest in anything which had not some 
reference to her, and had no enjoyment away from 
her, except in thinking what I should have to tell or 
to show her on my return ; and I have never returned 
to her after half a day's absence, without feeling my 
heart throb, and my eye brighten, with all the ardour 
and anxiety of a youthful passion. All the exertions 
I ever made in the world were for her sake entirely. 
You know how indolent I was by nature, and how re- 
gardless of reputation and fortune. But it was a 
delight to me to lay these things at the feet of my 
darling, and to invest her with some portion of the 
distinction she deserved, and to increase the pride 
and the vanity she felt for her husband, by accumula- 
ting these public tests of his merit. She had so lively 
a relish for life too, and so unquenchable and unbro- 
ken a hope in the midst of protracted illness and lan- 
guor, that the stroke which cut it off for ever appears 
equally pruel and unnatural. Though familiar with 
sickness, she seemed to have nothing to do with death. 
She always recovered'so rapidly, and was so cheerful 
and affectionate, and playful, that it scarcely entered 



THE SEVENTH COMMANDMENT. 



479 



into my imagination that there could be one sickness 
from which she would not recover. We had arranged 
several little projects of amusement for the autumn, 
and she talked of them, poor thing, with unabated 
confidence and delight, as long as she was able to 
talk coherently at all. I have the consolation to 
think that the short time she passed with me was as 
happy as love and hope could make it. In spite of 
her precarious health, she has often assured me that 
she was the happiest of women, and would not change 
her condition with any human creature. Indeed we 
lived in a delightful progress of every thing that could 
contribute to our felicity. Everything was opening 
and brightening before us. Our circumstances, our 
society, were rapidly improving, our understandings 
were expanding, and even our love and confidence in 
each other increasing from day to day. Now, I have 
no interest in anything, and no object or motive for 
being in the world. 

" I wish you had known my Kitty, for I cannot de- 
scribe her to you, and nobody else knows enough of 
her. The most peculiar and ennobling part of her 
character was a high principle of honour, integrity, 
and generosity, that would have been remarkable in 
a man, and which I never met with in a woman be- 
fore. She had no conception of prevaricating, shuff- 
ling, or disguising. There was a clear transparency 
in her soul, without affectation or reserve, which won 
your implicit confidence, and commanded your respect. 
Then she was the simplest and most cheerful of 
human beings ; the most unassuming, easy, and affec- 
tionate ; dignified in her deportment, but affable and 
engaging in conversation. Ser sweetness and cheer- 



480 THE SEVENTH COMMANDMENT. 



fulness in sickness won the hearts of all who came 
near her. She was adored by her servants, and has 
been wept for by her physicians, by the chairman who 
used to carry her, and the tradesmen with whom she 
dealt. 0 ! my dear John, my heart is very cold and 
heavy, and my prospect of life every way gloomy and 
deplorable. I had long been accustomed to place all 
my notions of happiness in domestic life ; and I had 
found it there, so pure, perfect, and entire, that I can 
never look for it any where else, or hope for it in any 
other form. Heaven protect you from the agony it 
has imposed upon me. Write me soon to say that 
you are happy, and that you and your Susan will 
love me. My heart is shut at this time to every 
thing but sorrow, but I think it must soon open to 
affection. All your friends here are well. I shall 
write you again soon. 

Ever, my dear John, most affectionately yours," 

F. J. 

The late lamented Abel P. Upshur, Secretary of 
State of the United States, thus wrote to the sister 
of his first wife, then recently deceased : 

"If there be truth in the promises of Jesus, I do 
confidently believe that she is an angel in heaven. 
What kindness were it to withdraw such a being from 
a scene in which all is peace, and confidence, and joy, 
to involve her again in the cares, the anxieties, the 
idle contests and frivolous activity of the world ? I 
can truly say that I derive much comfort from this 
reflection ; other considerations contribute to calm me, 
but this alone brings with it a sensible consolation. 
We are assured that in a future state the good and 
pious will receive an infinitely more exalted happiness 



THE SEVENTH COMMANDMENT. 



481 



than any this world can afford, and surely none that 
ever lived can with more confidence claim that reward 
than she for whom we are mourning. When I analyze 
my feelings in this affliction, I find that it is for my- 
self that I mourn, and not for her, that I am bewail- 
ing the comforts of her society, the cheering light of 
her countenance, the warm pulse of joy which throbbed 
for her so actively. Is it not selfishness which makes 
me regret to surrender these joys as the price of her 
infinite happiness ? On earth I would have given all 
I possessed to purchase her one hour's exemption 
from pain, yet I envy her the joys she has taken from 
me, although they form her passport to endless hap- 
piness. Surely I ought to reproach myself that I 
yield up, even with reluctant consent, the imperfect 
pleasures of the few years I have to live, when I 
know that their surrender is necessary to her ever- 
lasting good. Besides, Madam, it is true though 
trite, that she is but removed to a little distance from 
us, and we are already on the road to meet her again. 
I am not afraid of this reflection ; it is mingled with 
melancholy, but it is a melancholy of a soothing char- 
acter. It is certain we are approaching her by daily 
journeys, nor can we tell how soon the last day's 
journey shall be performed. In the meantime, we 
should persevere with constancy and with cheerful 
hopes, relying that when we meet her again it will be 
in a far different scene, that we shall find her happy 
beyond our natures to imagine how perfectly, that 
this happiness will be subject to no accident to render 
it less complete, and that we also may seize hold on 
it with the strong confidence that it will last for ever. 
Have we not the greatest reason to rejoice and to be 
41 



482 



THE SEVENTH COMMANDMENT, 



grateful that we are permitted to entertain these con- 
soling hopes ? How different would be our feelings 
if we dared not to look beyond the grave, or if in 
looking beyond it, we were forbidden to contemplate 
any thing but its horrors. I am sure I could not 
believe without distraction that all that I loved is 
gone from me for ever, that all my life to come must 
be a contest with despair. And how full of horror 
would be our feelings if in contemplating this eternity, 
we could even doubt that she whom we so tenderly 
loved is enjoying its best rewards. We have cer- 
tainly much reason to rejoice in the light which has 
broken in upon the tomb, that in our anguish we are 
not abandoned to the imperfect consolations of this 
life that fall surely to her, whose steps never erred. 
The grave is but the passage to endless felicity. If 
she had been less good, these hopes would have pre- 
sented themselves to us with less strength and fewer 
consolations, so that in fact, those very excellencies 
which make us regret her so much afford us the 
strongest motives for being reconciled to her loss. It 
is possible that at another time death would have 
found her less prepared to receive him. As it is, he 
has set his everlasting seal upon her character, the 
living will love and revere her memory, and those to 
whom she was most dear have the consoling conscious- 
ness that her summons came before the cares of the 
world had alienated her from God. 

" It appears to my mind that we ought to derive 
much strength from these reflections. At all events 
we must not forget that resignation to the will of 
Heaven is a duty which none shall be excused from 
neglecting. To command and to submit is the only 



THE SEVENTH COMMANDMENT. 



483 



reasoning between the Creator and his creatures. 
Nor, if we consider the matter aright, is resignation 
as difficult a duty as in our agony we may think it. 
It is extremely presumptuous in us, who cannot pene- 
trate the issues of one moment that is to come, to 
question the correctness of His doings, whose eye is 
over the universe, whose glance is through eternity, 
and whose goodness is without bounds. If it were 
not good, would the God of goodness do it ? If it 
were not right, would the God of justice bring it to 
pass ? In the decrees of that Being there can be no 
caprice, in his ordinances there can be no mutability. 
He acts by settled laws, which are hid from human 
scrutiny, but we have the fullest assurance that they 
are right, and that human wisdom could not alter one 
of them for the better. We would have ordered this 
thing differently, and yet, if we could have lifted the 
veil which hides us from the future, it is perfectly 
certain that we should have shuddered at the conse- 
quences of our weak interference. 

" There are some afflictions which come upon us 
like a torrent, which bears down and breaks in pieces 
all the barriers which reason, philosophy and even re- 
ligion can set up against it. Yet the torrent passes 
away and imparts in its progress strength and healthy 
fertility to the soil. It is only in such a soil that the 
seeds of religious consolation can nourish. To a mind 
at ease and rejoicing in the world it would be useless 
to address arguments drawn from beyond the grave. 
Those only who need such consolations are capable 
of feeling their force, and it is certain that the heart 
which has been truly wrung, will find all other conso- 
lations a feather in the storm. 



484 



THE SEVENTH COMMANDMENT. 



" As long as I looked no further than the grave, I 
saw nothing before me but despair. I have seen the 
necessity of drawing my consolation from a purer and 
more exalted source, and I am sincerely grateful to 
God that he gave me, even for a little while, an ex- 
ample by which I can profit in the day of my distress. 
While she lived it was habitual with me to refer all 
my actions to the standard of her judgment and good- 
ness, and if even in secret an impure thought rose in 
my bosom, her image was present to rtbuke me. 
Madam, she was a being not fitted for this world, and 
she has taken a flight to a better. Still, however, 
her example remains with us, and in my bereave- 
ment I shall not forget it. It shall be my endeavour 
so to conduct myself in my affliction as I think will 
be acceptable, if it be permitted her to bend her re- 
gards from heaven on my conduct on earth, to act as 
far as my less perfect nature will permit me as I 
think she would have acted under the circumstances." 

Solomon has given us the following portraiture of 
a good wife: "Who can find a virtuous woman? for 
her price is far above rubies. The heart of her 
husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall 
have no need of spoil. She will do him good and 
not evil all the days of her life. She seeketh wool, 
and flax, and worketh willingly with her hands. She 
is like the merchants' ships; she bringeth her food 
from afar. She riseth also while it is yet night, and 
giveth meat to her household, and a portion to her 
maidens. She considereth a field, and buyeth it: 
with the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard. 
She girdeth her loins with strength, and strengthened 



THE SEVENTH COMMANDMENT. 



485 



her arms. She perceiveth that her merchandise is 
good: her candle goeth not out by night. She 
layeth her hands to the spindle, and her hands hold 
the distaff. She stretcheth out her hand to the 
poor : yea, she reacheth forth her hands to the 
needy. She is not afraid of the snow for her house- 
hold : for all her household are clothed with scarlet. 
She maketh herself coverings of tapestry : her clothing 
is silk and purple. Her husband is known in the 
gates, when he sitteth among the elders of the land. 
She maketh fine linen, and selleth it; and delivereth 
girdles unto the merchant. Strength and honour are 
her clothing; and she shall rejoice in time to come. 
She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her 
tongue is the law of kindness. She looketh well to 
the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread 
of idleness. Her children rise up and call her 
blessed ; her husband also, and he praiseth her. 
Many daughters have done virtuously, but thou ex- 
cellest them all. Favour is deceitful, and beauty is 
vain : but a woman m that feareth the Lord, she shall 
be praised. Give her of the fruit of her hands ; and 
let her own works praise her in the gates." 

Others must judge what proportion of our modern 
fashionable ladies can be said to be up to Solomon's 
standard. Have you found many of them seeking 
wool and flax and working willingly with their hands ? 
Do they rise while it is yet night? How many of 
them have planted a vineyard with the fruit of their 
hands? If their candles go not out by night, is it 
not because they slept most of the day before, or 
expect to sleep most of the day afterwards ? And as 
to the spindle and the distaff, how few would know 
41 • 



486 



THE SEVENTH COMMANDMENT. 



these articles if they were to see them. Many cannot 
show webs spun and woven at home ; * but they can 
show hands as soft and white as lilies; for like the 
lilies they toil not, neither do they spin. They never 
make nor sell fine linen, though they buy a good deal 
of the article with money, to procure which father or 
husband was expatriated for years, or was obliged to 
give a mortgage on real estate. They are often 
highly sentimental over poverty or distress in a novel, 
but seldom stretch out the hand to the poor and 
needy. They love to be praised in the gates, even 
if husband and father are left at home to shift as best 
they may. Who would not commend Solomon's por- 
traiture to all his country-women? 

Although the Bible does not draw at length the 
character of a good husband, (or house-band as the 
word signifies,) yet in many places it tells us how he 
should behave towards the wife of his bosom. His 
character might be thus sketched. 

However he may appear to others, to his wife he is 
generous and confiding. While he commands re- 
spect, he abhors tyranny, and never breathes the 
spirit of domination. He does not love to make any 
one feel his power, but he rules his house with such 
gentleness that all, and especially his wife, deplore 
his occasional absence. His duties may call him 
abroad, but his own fireside is the chief seat of his 
delight. He is courteous and benevolent to all, but 
loves his family with unfailing tenderness. His man- 
ners may be rough, but his warm affection takes from 
them all that is unseemly except awkwardness. 
While he loves the company of his wife, he remem- 

* The word wife belongs to the same family as weove, woof, weeb. 



THE SEVENTH COMMANDMENT. 



48T 



bers that human life cannot subsist on doting fond- 
ness. He therefore resolutely toils and labours for 
the comforts required for our frail natures. He 
knows his own business, yet he is not such a son of 
Belial that his wife cannot speak to him about any 
of his affairs. While he encroaches not on her de- 
partment, he is yet ready to give counsel and aid in 
any matter that occupies the mind of his partner in 
life. He bears his full share of domestic cares. He 
is neither demure, nor frivolous, morose, nor petu- 
lant. He may be neither wit, nor humourist, yet he 
does not dictate, nor dogmatize. He knows when to 
weep, and when to rejoice. His temper is far re- 
moved from suspiciousness. He is not blind to the 
faults of his wife, but his conjugal affection covers 
them all from sight. He suggests improvements and 
labours to effect them, but not by means of rage or 
passion. He exemplifies the difference between cold 
civility, and solid respect. His means may be 
limited, but he rejoices to have his wife share with 
him the pleasure of befriending the needy, and ad- 
vancing the welfare of his race. In all good things 
he seconds her efforts. He goes with her to the 
house of God, and often implores Heaven's blessings 
on her. When she is pleased, he rejoices. In her 
days of nervous timidity, he neither laughs at her 
idle fears, nor makes a jest of her sorrows. If he is 
a king in her eyes, she is a queen in his. However 
rugged his nature, he is alarmed when first he sees 
the hectic flush, or other sign of danger ; and when 
he finds she must die, he is more nearly unmanned 
than ever before. And when she dies, divine cordials 
are necessary to sustain him. Or, if he dies first. 



488 



THE SEVENTH COMMANDMENT. 



his greatest grief is at leaving her to meet the storms 
of life alone, and he says, as great man [Dr. 
Archibald Alexander] lately fallen in Israel, with 
great tenderness said to his wife, just before his 
death: "My dear, one of my last prayers will be 
that you may have as serene and painless a departure 
as mine." 

Are you a happy husband or wife, give thanks to 
Him who has made you so. Put not on yourself or 
any mortal the crown which belongs to God alone. 
"Whoso findeth a wife, findeth a good thing, and 
obtaineth favour of the Lord." Prov. xviii. 22. 

VII. It is the obvious duty of all men to use 
their best endeavours to maintain good laws on the 
subject of marriage. In some places they are already 
enacted ; let them be enforced. As a civil in- 
stitution, marriage is subject to municipal regula- 
tions. As appointed by God, it is subject to divine 
laws. 

Among the influences exceedingly unfriendly to 
the right observance of the seventh commandment 
may be named 

I. THEATRICAL ENTERTAINMENTS. 

It is generally conceded that these lead to expen- 
sive habits. The very constitution of the whole 
system demands large sums of money. The price of 
tickets of admission declares how this matter stands. 
All persons know how fascinating these exhibitions 
are. He who has acquired a zest for them will 
forego the luxury of relieving even the widow and 
the fatherless; yea, he will neglect his business, 
often deprive himself of the means of paying his just 



THE SEVENTH COMMANDMENT. 



489 



debts, and in some cases, consent to subject himself 
and his family to a scanty mode of living, rather 
than fail of these entertainments. It is also a 
well-known fact, that young men, in our large cities, 
when once brought within the suction of this mighty 
vortex, will not flee from it, even though, in many 
cases, their only pecuniary means for gratifying 
their fondness for a favourite amusement, must be 
money taken from the chests of their employers. 
At first they fully intend to return it ; but the 
means of restitution not coming into their posses- 
sion, and the desire for amusement continually gain- 
ing strength, they finally go further, and take 
money without either the purpose or prospect of 
refunding it. Thus many young men commence 
thieves. Of nine young men and lads found guilty 
of felony, five stole to get the means of going to the 
theatre. Of seven others, two purloined money to 
buy lottery tickets, and three to buy tickets to attend 
the circus. 

Theatrical entertainments also tempt to dissipa- 
tion and intemperance. These vices are known to 
be exceedingly expensive; but we wish to speak of 
them in other respects. In the first place, a very 
frequent preparation for attendance at theatres and 
such places, is indulgence, to some degree in stimu- 
lating drink. Then, these places of resort, almost 
without exception, are supplied with one or more 
bars, at which liquors of every tempting variety are 
sold ; and what is more common, after the excitement 
of a protracted sitting at the theatre, than a certain 
sensation of lassitude and exhaustion, tempting to the 
use of additional stimulus ? 



490 



THE SEVENTH COMMANDMENT. 



This leads to the remark, that the company which 
a man finds at these places, is tempting; and he who 
goes into it is in danger of ruin. All observation 
unites with revelation in declaring, that he who walk- 
eth with wise men shall be wise, but the companion 
of fools shall be destroyed. By common consent, in 
all Christian communities, ministers of the gospel, 
and professors of serious godliness, venture not to 
these entertainments, on pain of witnessing all that 
they deem sacred exposed to the ribaldry of the pro- 
fane. It will also cost all that the fairest female 
reputation is worth, for its possessor to be seen, even 
for one minute, in the gallery of a theatre ; and yet 
it does not remain un visited by the sons, and brothers, 
and husbands, and fathers, of many an humble, and 
pious, and modest female. In this career of crime, 
the first step is to the theatre, the next to the bar, 
the next to that lewd company in the gallery, the 
next to the brothel, the next to disease, the next to 
death, and the last to HELL. 

Attendance at the theatre is also a great waste of 
time. How much time is taken up first in thinking 
and talking about it! how much in attending it! 
and how much in thoughts and remarks upon what 
has been seen and heard! If "minutes make the 
years," how soon will he have consumed years of 
time, who wastes hundreds of minutes nightly at the 
place of amusement ! Allowing a man to spend but 
six hours in each week at the theatre, for ten years, 
he will thus consume, of waking hours, one hundred 
and thirty days, equal, at least, to two hundred days 
of ordinary time, a period long enough to pay a visit 
to London and Paris, and spend sixty-five days in 



THE SEVENTH COMMANDMENT. 



491 



each; and this, too, at a cost of money sufficient to 
pay one's expenses in performing the tour of Europe. 

Neither must it be forgotten that the theatre is not 
under the control of play-writers, nor of play-actors, 
nor of the refined and chaste part of the audience. 

The exhibitions of the stage are such as to familiar- 
ize and even encourage vicious and sinful inclinations 
and dispositions, and entirely to leave unsung the 
praises of sobriety, temperance, Christian watchful- 
ness, gospel humility, evangelical penitence, self- 
denial, heavenly-mindedness, and indeed every Chris- 
tian virtue. Let me here present the thoughts of a 
writer in the Port-Royal in France. The author is 
supposed to be the Prince of Conti. He says: "It 
is so true that plays are almost always a representation 
of vicious passions, that the most part of Christian 
virtues are incapable of appearing on the stage. 
Silence, patience, moderation, wisdom, poverty, re- 
pentance, are no virtues the representation of which 
can divert the spectators; and, above all, we never 
hear humility spoken of, and the bearing of injuries. 
There must be something great and renowned, accord- 
ing to men, or at least something lively and animated 
which is not met with in Christian gravity and wis- 
dom; and therefore those who have been desirous to 
introduce holy men and women upon the stage, have 
been forced to make them appear proud, and to make 
them utter discourses more proper for the ancient 
Roman heroes, than for saints and martyrs. Their 
devotion upon the stage ought also to be always a 
little extraordinary." Now, when we place ourselves 
in such circumstances as continually to fill our minds 
with images of viciousness, must we not be tempted 



492 



THE SEVENTH COMMANDMENT. 



first to endure, then to admire, then to imitate ? 
Does not all experience corroborate this view? The 
pious Psalmist said: "I will set no wicked thing 
before mine eyes : I hate the work of them that turn 
aside." Psal. ci. 3. Another scripture declares that 
"the thought of foolishness is sin." Prov. xxiv. 9. 
Shall frequenters of theatrical entertainments then 
be innocent ? Another portion of scripture speaks 
of "vain imaginations" as marks of a wicked charac- 
ter. Rom. i. 21. Are not theatres and such places 
the very nurseries of vain imaginations ? " Lead us 
not into temptation." 

Another passage of scripture requires us to avoid 
all " filthiness and foolish talking and jesting, which 
are not convenient," or becoming virtuous character. 
Eph. v. 4. How any frequenter of theatres, circuses, 
&c, can avoid oft-repeated violations or powerful in- 
ducements to violations of this precept, requires more 
ingenuity to discover than any mortal has ever yet 
manifested. Indeed this precept forms no part of 
the moral code of devotees of theatrical diversions and 
amusements. 

These general views derive considerable strength 
from the general impression, that attendance on these 
amusements is tempting to some people. For the 
young and inexperienced to go without some special 
safe-guard is generally confessed to be unsafe. Men 
show their candid and real judgments on this subject, 
when their apprentices, clerks and wards acquire a 
passion for this amusement. 

That the foregoing views are not confined to any 
one person or age, it is very easy to show by a refer- 
ence to the views expressed by historians, biographers, 



THE SEVENTH COMMANDMENT. 



493 



philosophers, poets, moralists and religionists, of 
almost every nation and grade. We shall quote them 
as -witnesses, whose conspiring testimony, mightily 
strengthened and confirmed by their discordance on 
almost every other subject, is conclusive proof of their 
correctness on this. 

At Athens, where the stage was first known, both 
tragedy and comedy were soon abolished by public 
authority because judged injurious to the state. The 
Greek philosophers speak the same language. Plato 
says: "Plays raise the passions, and pervert the use 
of them: and, of consequence are dangerous to moral- 
ity." Aristotle says : " The seeing of comedies ought 
to be forbidden to young people, until age and dis- 
cipline have made them proof against debauchery." 
It is thought in our day that there are some old men 
who are not proof against debauchery. Ought not 
they to stay away from the theatre? The Romans 
did to a limited extent allow of theatres, yet did they 
so much dread their prevalence that no public theatre 
was allowed to remain standing more than a certain 
number of days. Even the great theatre erected by 
M. Scaurus, which cost more than four and a half 
millions of dollars, was speedily taken down. Pompey 
the Great was the first who had influence sufficient to 
continue a theatre. Tacitus, the great Roman historian, 
says : " The German women were guarded against dan- 
ger and preserved their purity by having no play-houses 
among them." Ovid, in a grave work addressed to 
Augustus, advises the suppression of theatrical amuse- 
ments as a grand source of corruption. Indeed, Gu- 
evara says, that a virtuous prince or emperor was 
known by his banishing from his presence players, 
42 



494 



THE SEVENTH COMMANDMENT. 



jesters and jugglers ; and that a vicious prince was 
known by his retaining such. Many of even the Ro- 
man emperors declared the scenes of the stage to be 
" unbecoming exercises and effeminate arts which 
very much corrupted and disgraced the state, and 
were seminaries of all vices and intolerable mischiefs 
in the commonwealth." Seneca, the moralist, says : 
" Nothing is so destructive (damnosum) of good man- 
ners or morals as attendance on the stage." Titus 
Livy, the accomplished Roman historian, in his history 
thrice mentions the theatre. In the first instance he 
says : "It commenced with the purpose of aiding in 
the worship of the gods," i. e. the devils. In the 
next instance he calls it a " folly, which had grown 
to an intolerable height of madness." In the third 
instance he says the stage had its origin in purposes 
of superstitious devotions. St. Augustine agrees 
with Livy in making the same statement of its origin. 
Juvenal says that in his time " a man could not find 
one chaste woman whom he might safely love as his 
wife in all the play-house, and that all who frequent 
stage-plays are infamous, and forfeit their good 
names." That Christians ought not, in the judgment 
of good men of past days, to attend theatres, is very 
clear. One to whom America is vastly indebted said 
many years ago : " For many ages there was no de- 
bate on it at all. There were players, but they did 
not pretend to be Christians themselves, and they had 
neither countenance nor support from any who did." 
In the Apostolic Constitutions, stage-players and actors 
are enumerated among those who are not to be ad- 
mitted to baptism. All the ancient forms of baptism, 
written after the Apostolic Constitutions, required a 



THE SEVENTH COMMANDMENT. 



495 



renunciation of all such things. Individual writers 
have also from the early ages of Christianity borne a 
decided testimony on this subject. Cyprian says : 
" The Scripture hath everlastingly condemned all 
sorts of such spectacles and stage-plays." In another 
place he styles theatres " the stews of public chastity, 
the mastership of obscenity, which teach those sins in 
public. It is not lawful for faithful Christians, yea, 
it is altogether unlawful to be present at these plays." 
Elsewhere he says : " She that perchance comes a 
chaste woman to the play, goes away with staioed 
chastity." Tertullian says that "the heathen did 
chiefly discern who were infidels and who Christians, 
by the latter abandoning all stage-plays." In another 
place he says : " We (Christians) renounce your spec- 
tacles and stage-plays — we have nothing at all to do 
with the fury of your circus, and the dishonesty of 
the theatre — we come not to your plays." In another 
place he says : " We who compute our nobility not by 
blood, but by our manners, do with good reason re- 
nounce your sinful pleasures, pomps and spectacles, 
whose original with respect to their sacredness, and 
whose pernicious allurements to sin, we both alike 
condemn. For in your Oircensian games, who can 
but abhor the madness of the people clamoring on 
different sides ? And as for your gladiatorian diver- 
sions, who can sit with ease in that school of murder ? 
And for your theatres, there also the extravagance is 
not less, but the lewdness longer. For one while the 
mimic either recites adulteries or exhibits them ;• 
another while the lascivious actor plays the gallant and 
kindles the passion he feigns. He likewise vilifies 
your gods by personating their rapes, sighs and di§~ 



496 THE SEVENTH COMMANDMENT. 

cords. And so by well-dissembled sorrow and hypo- 
critical gestures, he sets you a crying to the life. 
Thus are you mad upon murder in good earnest, and 
yet, forsooth, cannot bear it in fable without a tear." 
Clemens Alexandrinus calls " stage-plays, comedies, 
and amorous songs, teachers of adulteries and defilers 
of men's ears with fornications;" and says: "Not 
only the use, the sight, the hearing, but the very 
memory of stage plays should be abolished." In 
another place he directs Christian youths " not to 
permit their pedagogues to lead them to plays or 
theatres, because they are the occasion of lewdness, 
and wicked counsel is plotted at them." How much 
like the modern theatre. "Wicked counsel is plotted 
there," such as is peculiarly dangerous to young men ! 
Origen says : " Christians must not lift up their eyes 
to stage-plays, the pleasurable delights of polluted 
eyes." Lactantius says : "These interludes with 
which men are delighted, and which they willingly at- 
tend, are wholly to be abolished from among us, be- 
cause they are the greatest instigations to vice, and 
the most powerful instruments to corrupt men's 
minds." Gregory Nazianzen calls "stage-players 
the servants of lewdness, and stage-plays the dishon- 
ourable, unseemly instructions of lascivious men, who 
repute nothing filthy but modesty." He also calls 
" play-houses the lascivious shops of all filthiness and 
impurity." Ambrose calls " stage-plays spectacles 
of vanity," and exhorts " Christians to turn away 
from them." Augustine says that " stage-plays are 
the subverters of goodness and honesty, the destroyers 
of all modesty and chastity, the arts of mischievous 
villanies which even modest pagans did blush to be- 



THE SEVENTH COMMANDMENT. 



497 



hold." In another place he calls them " the cages of 
uncleanness, the public profession of wickedness." 
Epiphanius says, " that the catholic and apostolic 
church doth reprobate and forbid all theatres, stage- 
plays, and all such like heathenish practices." Chry- 
sostom says : "I wish the theatres and play-houses 
were all thrown down, though as to us (Christians) 
they lay desolate and ruined long ago." " Nothing," 
says he, " brings the oracles and ordinances of God 
into such contempt as admiring and attending stage- 
plays. Neither sacraments nor other ordinances 
of God, will do a man any good, so long as he fre- 
quents stage-plays." Bernard says : "All true sol- 
diers of Jesus Christ abominate and reject all dicing 
and stage-plays, as vanities and false frenzies." These 
testimonies of individuals are fully corroborated by 
the ancient synods or councils, which did often pro- 
hibit, condemn and reprobate, all sorts of stage-plays ; 
and appoint to excommunication from the visible 
church all who attended them. The Eliberine coun- 
cil in Spain, in A. D. 305, the council at Aries in 
France, in A. D. 314, the council held in the same 
place, in A. D. 326, the third council of Carthage, in 
A. D. 397, the council of Hippo, in A. D. 393, the 
great African council in A. D. 408, the great council 
at Constantinople, in A. D. 680, and the great coun- 
cil in the same place, in A. D. 692, did severally and 
solemnly condemn every thing belonging to theatrical 
exhibitions of every description. 

Modern divines and synods have been as little di- 
vided on this matter as on any other subject of Chris- 
tian practice. Let a few men speak for themselves. 
Archbishop ITssher says : " Stage-plays offend against 
42* 



498 THE SEVENTH COMMANDMENT. 

the seventh commandment in many ways together — 
in the abuse of apparel, tongue, eyes, countenance, 
gestures, and almost all parts of the body ; therefore 
they that go to see such sights, and hear such words, 
show their neglect of Christian duty, and their care- 
lessness in sinning, whereas they willingly commit 
themselves to the snare of the devil." Bishop Collier 
says: " Nothing has done more to debauch the 
age in which we live than the stage-poets and the 
play-house." Archbishop Tillotson says: " The play- 
house is the devil 's chapel, a nursery of licentiousness 
and vice ; a recreation which ought not to be allowed 
among a civilized, much less a Christian people." 
Andrew Fuller says : " The introduction of so large 
a portion of heathen mythology into the songs and 
other entertainments of the stage, sufficiently shows 
the bias of people's hearts. The house of God gives 
them no pleasure ; but the resurrection of the obsceni- 
ties, intrigues and bacchanalian revels of the old 
heathens, affords them exquisite delight." The Synod 
held at Rochelle, in A. D. 1571, unanimously voted 
that " Congregations shall be admonished by their 
ministers seriously to reprehend and suppress all 
dances, mummeries and interludes ; and it shall not 
be lawful for any Christian to act or be present at 
any comedies, tragedies, plays, interludes, or any 
other such sports, either in public or in private cham- 
bers, considering that they have always been opposed, 
condemned and suppressed, in and by the church, as 
bringing along with them the corruption of good man- 
ners, especially when the Holy Scripture is profaned, 
which is not delivered to be acted or played, but only 
to be preached." The Westminster Assembly num- 



THE SEVENTH COMMANDMENT. 



499 



bers among the violations of the seventh command- 
ment " all unclean imaginations, thoughts, purposes, 
and affections, all corrupt or filthy communications, or 
listening thereto, immodest apparel, unchaste com- 
pany, lascivious songs, books, pictures, dancings, 
stage-plays, and all other provocations to, or acts of 
uncleanness, either in ourselves or others." But not 
only have the ancient heathens and the divines and 
councils of the church in every age condemned these 
things. All classes of moderns have borne their tes- 
timony in the same way. Dymond says : " The night 
of a play is the harvest time of iniquity, where the 
profligate and the sensual put in their sickles and 
reap." Sir John Hawkins, the biographer of Dr. 
Johnson, and an infidel, observes : " Although it is 
said of plays that they teach morality ; and of the 
stage that it is the mirror of human life, these asser- 
tions are mere declamation, and have no foundation 
in truth or experience. On the contrary, a play-house 
and the regions about it are the very hot-beds of 
vice." Lord Kaimes, a skeptic, says : " It requires 
not time nor much thought to discover the poisonous 
influence of such plays, where the chief characters 
are decked out with every vice in fashion, however 
gross, and where their deformities are carefully dis- 
guised under the embellishments of wit, sprightliness 
and good humour." Dr. Johnson, speaking of Col- 
r lier's view of the immorality and profaneness of the 
English stage, says : " The wise and the pious caught 
the alarm, and the nation wondered that it had suf- 
fered irreligion and licentiousness to be openly taught 
at the public charge." Drydeu, a Catholic, acknowl- 
edged the propriety of Collier's remarks, and pub- 



500 



THE SEVENTH COMMANDMENT. 



lislied his repentance for the licentiousness with which 
he himself had written. Rousseau, the infidel, has 
said some things I would not dare to say, viz: "It is 
impossible that an establishment (a theatre at Geneva) 
so contrary to our ancient manners can be generally 
applauded. How many generous citizens will see 
with indignation this monument of luxury and effemi- 
nacy raise itself upon our ancient simplicity ! Where 
is the imprudent mother that would dare to carry her 
daughter to this dangerous school ? And what re- 
spectable woman would not think herself dishonoured 
in going there ?" 

" What the stage might be," says Mrs. Hannah 
More, " under another, and an imaginary state of 
things, it is not very easy for us to know, and 
' therefore not very important to inquire. Nor is it, 
indeed, the soundest logic to argue on the possible 
goodness of a thing, which in the present circum- 
stances of society is doing positive evil, from the ima- 
gined good that thing might be conjectured to pro- 
duce in a supposed state of unattainable improve- 
ment." 

That there is nothing in theatrical entertainments 
inconsistent with the wildest excesses was abundantly 
illustrated in the French Revolution, near the close 
of the 18th century. Speaking of the state of things 
in Paris, Edmund Burke says : 

"While courts of justice were thrust out by Jacobin 
tribunals, and silent churches were only the funeral 
monuments of departed religion, there were no fewer 
than twenty-eight theatres, great and small, most of 
them kept open at the public expense, and all of 
them crowded every night. Among the gaunt, hag- 



THE SEVENTH COMMANDMENT. 



501 



gard forms of famine and nakedness ; amidst the 
yells of murder, the tears of affliction, and the cries 
of despair ; the song and the dance, the mimic scene 
and the buffoon laughter went on as regularly as in 
the gay hour of festive peace. 

"Even under the scaffold of judicial murder, and the 
gaping planks that poured down blood upon the spec- 
tators, the space was hired out for a show of dancing 
dogs. The society of Paris was like a den of out- 
laws upon a doubtful frontier, a lewd tavern for the 
revels and debauches of banditti, assassins and par- 
amours, — filled with licentious and blasphemous songs, 
proper to their brutal and hardened course of life." 

And will not every American heed the following 
testimony ? 

In Congress, October 12th, 1778 : " Whereas, true 
religion and good morals are the only solid founda- 
tion of public liberty and happiness : Resolved, that 
it be, and is hereby earnestly recommended to the 
several States to take the most effectual means for 
the encouragement thereof, and for the suppressing 
of Theatrical entertainments, horse-racing, gaming, 
and such other diversions, as are productive of idle- 
ness, dissipation, and a general depravity of princi- 
ples and manners." 

" Extract from the Minutes. 

(Signed) Chas. Thomson, Sect." 

But let us look at the effect of stage-plays upon 
those who are most affected by them. Reference is 
had to the players themselves. Tertullian says : 
" The heathens themselves marked actors and stage- 
players with infamy, and excluded them from all 



502 



THE SEVENTH COMMANDMENT. 



honours and dignity." Augustine says : " Men reject 
from the advantages of good society, and from all 
honours, the actors of the poetic fables and stage- 
players." Rousseau says : " In all countries the pro- 
fession of a player is dishonourable, and those who 
exercise it are everywhere contemned." Wither- 
spoon says : " Even those who are fondest of theatri- 
cal amusements, do yet notwithstanding esteem the 
employment of players a mean and sordid profession. 
Their character has been infamous in all ages, just a 
living copy of that vanity, obscenity and impiety, 
which is to be found in the pieces which they repre- 
sent." Thus also a French writer of some note dur- 
ing the reign of wickedness in that land, near the close 
of the last century, says : "It must appear very sur- 
prising, that even down to the expiration of the French 
monarchy, there was a character of disgrace affixed 
to the profession of a player, especially when com- 
pared with the kindred profession of preacher or 
pleader." This same language was used in lamenta- 
tion by one of our oldest journals forty years ago. 
A modern writer asks a question which each man can 
answer or not at his pleasure : "Is there any family 
of rank or high standing that would not feel degraded 
by a marriage alliance with a stage-player?" Wil- 
berforce says : "It is an undeniable fact, for the 
truth of which we may safely appeal to every age and 
nation, that the situation of the performers, particu- 
larly those of the female sex, is remarkably unfavour- 
able to the maintenance and growth of the religious 
and moral principle, and of course highly dangerous 
to their eternal interests." Dymond says: "If I 
take my seat in the theatre, I have paid three or four 



THE SEVENTH COMMANDMENT. 



503 



shillings as an inducement to a number of persons to 
subject their principles to extreme danger — and the 
defence which I make is, that I am amused by it. 
Now we affirm that this defence is invalid." Even 
the famous Mrs. Frances Ann Butler — known as Miss 
Fanny Kemble — says, in her journal: "Acting is 
the very lowest of the arts" . . . "I acted like a 
wretch of course; how could I do otherwise" . . . 
" What a mass of wretched mumming mimickry acting 
is" . . . "How I do loathe my most impotent and 
unpoetical craft." Surely a late poet was fully justi- 
fied when he said : 

" The theatre was, from the very first, 
The favourite haunt of sin, though honest men, 
Some very honest, wise and worthy men, 
Maintained it might be turned to good account : 
And so perhaps it might, but never was. 
From first to last it was an evil place." 

All these testimonies, gathered from pagans, infi- 
dels, Christians, laity, clergy, poets, statesmen, histo- 
rians, philosophers, councils, and our national con- 
gress, have been presented for the purpose of showing 
what these entertainments have been in every age, as 
they have been regularly handed down to us, and for 
the purpose of developing in a satisfactory manner 
the peculiar vices which are thus nourished. 

No man can properly object to the testimo- 
nies cited, because, be his views what they may in 
morals, here is evidence that the theatre is an " evil 
place." 

There is no method by which the force of these 
testimonies could be destroyed, except by showing 
that the theatre is now in an improved condition— 



504 



THE SEVENTH COMMANDMENT. 



that it is really reformed. Yet that it has NOT 
changed for the better, is manifest from the com- 
plaints made in the journals of the day — the very 
journals that are crowded with advertisements and 
notices respecting plays, and therefore cannot be sus- 
pected of being righteous overmuch. 

II. DIVORCE. 

The subject of divorce claims increasing attention. 
In this age and country, we are inclined to too great 
readiness to legal separation of husband and wife. 
Let us beware that we do not follow the sad example 
of revolutionary France in this matter. The Abbd 
Gregoire, speaking of the statute of divorce said : 
" This law will soon ruin the whole nation." And 
yet it is a great mistake to suppose that we uphold 
virtue by adopting rules on this subject more strict 
than those laid down in Scripture. Our Lord ex- 
plicitly states that infidelity to the marriage vow is a 
sufficient cause of a divorce. Matt. v. 31, 32. This 
case is perfectly clear. 

Another case clearly settled by the apostle accord- 
ing to the general understanding of the Christian 
world is that of wilful desertion ; where one party or 
the other persistently refuses to perform the duties 
of the relation. 1 Cor. vii. 15. 

Some years ago, a youthful lady was married to a 
man considerably older than herself. He had pro- 
perty ; she had none. She told her friends that she 
married him for his money ; but to him she was com- 
plaisant. Very soon after marriage, she attempted 
to pour melted lead into his ear while he was asleep. 
His petition for a legal separation was promptly 



THE SEVENTH COMMANDMENT. 



505 



granted. Perhaps few intelligent persons will doubt 
the morality of that divorce. A wilful and deliberate 
attempt at murder is surely a crime of as high a 
grade as either of the others mentioned. The mode 
of reasoning on this subject is this : If for a minor 
offence, utterly subverting the design of marriage, a 
divorce is lawful, surely it is so for a greater offence 
against the same person. 

III. INCEST. 

This unnatural sin may be committed even under 
the forms of law. It is not proposed here to discuss 
it at length ; but to state that the understanding of 
the Christian world has long been that the law of 
incest laid down in the 18th chapter of Leviticus is 
still binding. The only other hint of any rule direct- 
ing us on this subject is found in 1 Cor. v. 1, where 
without marriage, incest was committed. Of late 
years there has been manifested a disposition to set 
aside the law of incest, given in Lev. xviii. But let 
men remember that if the rules there given be not 
binding, the whole world is left at large, without any 
law of God prohibiting even brother and sister from 
marrying. 

IV. THIS PRECEPT IS COMPREHENSIVE. 

This commandment, like all the rest, is spiritual, 
and extends to the thoughts of the heart. Our 
Saviour put this point beyond all doubt in his sermon 
on the Mount. Matt. v. 28. We must therefore 
maintain purity in body and behaviour, in mind, in 
feeling, in words and in conduct. 1 Thess. iv. 4, 5, 
Eph. iv. 29 ; Col. iv. 6. This precept forbids un- 
43 



506 



THE SEVENTH COMMANDMENT. 



chaste looks, unchaste company, and immodest ap- 
parel. Job xxxi. 1 ; 1 Cor. v. 9; 1 Tim. ii. 9; 2 Pet. 
ii. 14. It requires us studiously to avoid whatever 
may lead to impurity of affection or of life. Prov. v. 8. 

The venerable Thomas Scott, writing on this com- 
mandment, says, "Under the word laseiviousness, 
various transgressions are denoted, which cannot be 
mentioned without offence; and everything, which 
does not comport with the spirit of marriage, though 
sanctioned by that name, violates the spiritual mean- 
ing of the prohibition. All impure conversation, 
imaginations, or desires, are likewise condemned by 
this law. ' He that looketh on a woman to lust af- 
ter her, hath committed adultery with her already in 
his heart.' Writing, reading, publishing, vending, or 
circulating obscene books ; exposing to view indecent 
pictures or statues, or whatever else may excite men's 
passions, must partake of the same guilt : and wit, 
elegance, and ingenuity only increase the mischief, 
wherever the specious poison is administered. All 
the arts of dress, motion, or denfeanour, which form 
temptations to heedless youth ; with all those bland- 
ishments, insinuations, amorous looks and words, 
which subserve seduction, fall under the same censure. 
In short, the commandment requires the utmost 
purity, both of body and soul, in secret as well as be- 
fore men; with a holy indifference to animal indulg- 
ences, and the strictest government of all the appe- 
tites, senses, and passions ; and it enjoins the desire 
and endeavour of preserving the same disposition and 
behaviour in all others, as far as we have it in our 
power." 

The following things are clear. 



THE SEVENTH COMMANDMENT. 



507 



1. The language of Scripture concerning the breaches 
of this commandment is exceedingly well-suited to 
alarm any guilty soul. It says, " This is an heinous 
crime ; yea, it is an iniquity to be punished by the 
judges. For it is a fire that consumeth to destruc- 
tion." Job xxxi. 11, 12. 

2. All uncleanness, even of mind, is contrary to 
God. " This is the will of God, even your sanctifica- 
tion, that ye should abstain from fornication : that 
every one of you should know how to possess his 
vessel in sanctification and honour ; not in the lust of 
concupiscence, even as the Gentiles which know not 
God." 1 Thess. iv. 3-5. 

3. All impurity is entirely contrary to the Chris- 
tian profession. " God hath not called us unto un- 
cleanness, but unto holiness." 1 Thess. iv. 7. "For- 
nication and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it 
not be once named among you, as becometh saints ; 
neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, 
which are not convenient." Eph. v. 3, 4. 

4. All violations of this commandment are signs of 
a depraved nature. u Now the works of the flesh are 
manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, un- 
cleanness, lasciviousness, &c." Gal. v. 19. 

5. God calls upon us to put to death all vile affec- 
tions. " Mortify your members which are upon the 
earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, 
evil concupiscence, &c, &c." Col. iii. 5. 

6. The Scriptures tell us of the debasing and ruin- 
ing effects of this sin on those who fall under its 
power. "Whoso committeth adultery with a woman 
lacketh understanding : he that doeth it destroyeth 
his own soul. A wound and dishonour shall he get ; 



508 



THE SEVENTH COMMANDMENT. 



and his reproach shall not be wiped away." Prov. vi. 
32, 33. Compare Prov. vii. 22. 

7. They further declare that it leads to general ir- 
religion. " Whoredom and wine and new wine take 
away the heart." Hos. iv. 11 ; Eph. iv. 18, 19. 

8. Good writers have dwelt much on the heinous- 
ness of those acts which transgress this command- 
ment. They especially notice the fact that two souls 
are murdered at once. Hopkins says : " Suppose that 
God should vouchsafe thee repentance unto life ; yet 
art thou sure that his justice and severity will not 
harden the other in this sin, to which thou hast been 
the author and persuader?" 

9. Everywhere the Scriptures declare the reigning 
power of this sin to be an infallible token of 
coming perdition. " This ye know, that no whore- 
monger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man who 
is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom 
of Christ and of God." Eph. v. 5. Compare Heb. 
xiii. 4 ; Rev. xxi. 8, xxii. 15. There is no room for 
doubting that he who dies impenitent for violations of 
the seventh commandment goes to an undone eternity. 

V. BEWARE OF SINS AGAINST THIS PRECEPT. 

The following thoughts may suggest rules and 
motives that may be helpful in enabling us to avoid 
violations of this precept. 

1. The time is short, and eternity is near. The 
Judge ■standeth before the door. Let every man re- 
member that he is mortal. Let those that have wives 
be as though they had none ; and those that rejoice 
as those that rejoiced not ; for the fashion of this 
world passeth away. 



THE SEVENTH COMMANDMENT. 



509 



2. In all things endeavour to be temperate and 
moderate. Ask yourself, will I approve of my present 
conduct, when called to give up my last account ? 

3. Remember that the Lord is omniscient. ff Thou 
God seest me," is a good motto for all occasions. 

4. Remember that no mortal ever had exaggerated 
views of the evil of sin. It burns to the lowest hell. 
The sweeter the unlawful indulgence to our carnal 
nature the bitterer will be the cup of repentance or 
of indignation put into our hands. 

5. Let each one remember his own weakness. 
None but God can preserve any man from falling into 
the worst of sins. Our strength is nothing. All 
human resolutions unsupported by divine grace, are 
like fences of snow before a burning sun. When 
temptation comes, they soon melt away. 

6. Our great business sliould be to obtain thorough 
renewal of nature. Without this, we have no guaranty 
that we may not be overcome at any moment. Let 
every man cry, " Create in me a clean heart, 0 God, 
and renew a right spirit within me." Augustine 
found regeneration the only remedy for his wicked- 
ness, and so have millions of others. 

7. Let each one continually set before him the 
bright and blessed example «of our Lord Jesus Christ, 
and let us dwell much on his amazing sufferings in 
our behalf. If our sins are ever effectually mortified, 
we must nail them to the cross of Christ. 

43 • 



510 



THE EIGHTH COMMANDMENT. 



CHAPTER XXII. 
THE EIGHTH COMMANDMENT. 

THOU SHALT NOT STEAL. 

THE honour of religion is deeply involved in the 
course men pursue concerning this command- 
ment, which regulates our labour, our buying, our 
selling, our expenditures, and our entire civil con- 
duct. We are bound to "provide things honest in 
the sight of all men." Rom. xii. 17. We are not at 
liberty to live in needless poverty and wretchedness, 
nor to let our dependents suffer. " If any provide 
not for his own, and specially for those of his own house- 
hold, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an 
infidel." 1 Tim. v. 8. Compare Eph. iv. 28. This 
is wholesome doctrine. No religious teacher may 
keep silent concerning it. The church that disre- 
gards it is ruined. 

Yet we may "not make provision for the flesh, to 
fulfil the lusts thereof." Rom. xiii. 14. Our atten- 
tion to our temporal affairs must not minister to our 
pride, our sloth, our vanity, our sensuality, our love 
of the world. 1 John ii. 16 ; Prov. xxi. 25 ; Eph. iv. 17, 
&c. Although man's absolute wants,, to be supplied 
by his personal industry, are not very numerous, nor 



THE EIGHTH COMMANDMENT. 



511 



of long duration; yet they are more than some sup- 
pose. And while we ought to be content, yes, and 
thankful for food and raiment of a simple kind; yet 
it is lawful, and when practicable it is obligatory on 
men to secure the comforts of life. Paul exhorts his 
converts to ' ' do your own business, and to work with 
your own hands, as we commanded you ; that ye may 
walk honestly towards them that are without, and 
that ye may have lack of nothing." 1 Thess. iv. 11, 
12. One of the great obstacles to be overcome in 
some heathen nations is found in the fact that masses 
of the people feel their wants to be so few, and so 
easily supplied, that they spend most of their time in 
idleness, in gambling, in sauntering about, in listen- 
ing to foolish songs and stories, in witnessing the 
feats of jugglers, and in attending on vain proces- 
sions. The same is true of Roman Catholic countries 
in the south of Europe. There are so many saints' 
days, that the labouring classes have not time to earn 
enough to secure the comforts of life. They become 
discouraged in the attempt, and extreme poverty and 
squalid wretchedness are perpetuated from genera- 
tion to generation. Everywhere in Scripture indo- 
lence is condemned, and industry commended. Of 
the virtuous housewife, Solomon says, "She eateth 
not the bread of idleness." "By much slothfulness, 
the building decayeth; and through idleness of the 
hands the house droppeth through." Eccles. x. 18. 
"Pride, fulness of bread, and abundance of idleness," 
were among the causes of the ruin of Sodom and the 
other cities of the plain. Ezek. xvi. 49. These sins 
fostered others which provoked the wrath of Heaven 
beyond forbearance. It is a remarkable fact that 



512 THE EIGHTH COMMANDMENT. 

Paul himself once addressed a congregation of idlers, 
who "spent their time in nothing else, but either to 
tell, or to hear some new thing." Acts xvii. 21. But 
so far as we know, not one of them received any 
spiritual benefit. For "when they heard of the 
resurrection of the dead, some mocked: and others 
said, We will hear thee again of this matter." Acts 
xvii. 32. The only persons mentioned by name among 
those who profited by his preaching were a member of 
the chief court of the city and a woman named 
Damaris. Man was not allowed to be idle even in 
Paradise; and when he apostatized from God, the 
sentence to which it is wise ever to submit, was, "In 
the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat thy bread, till 
thou return unto the ground." Gen. iii. 19. 
Let us consider 

THE LAW OP HONESTY. 

There is hardly a word of more varied classical 
meaning than the word Honesty ; and the Latin word 
Eonestas from which it is derived. The same remark 
is true of the Greek word rendered honesty. In all 
these the range of meaning is very extended. But 
when applied to civil affairs, there are two ideas con- 
nected with the word, which we may not pass over in 
silence. One is that of Justice. That which is 
unjust can never be honest. All injustice ought to 
be avoided, and is clearly condemned by Scripture. 
However refined, or countenanced by society or 
custom, it is still contrary to God's word and will. 
No human conscience ever aproved of a clear and 
decided case of injustice. The other idea inseparably 
connected with the word honesty, when applied to 



THE EIGHTH COMMANDMENT. 



513 



civil affairs, is that of Honour, or good repute. 
Any dishonourable conduct in temporal affairs is not 
honest. For a Christian to receive a bribe to do 
what was his obvious duty, or to refuse to do his duty 
without reward, is dishonest. So, for one to consent 
to do an odious thing (for instance, to act as hangman, 
not because his office required it of him, but because 
he loved gain,) would be dishonourable and so dis- 
honest. A good man must keep his eye on the things 
that are lovely and of good report, if he would avoid 
a stain upon his escutcheon, and a wound on his con- 
science. All the ordinary and necessary avocations 
of life, the culture of the soil, the practice of the 
learned professions, trade, and the useful and orna- 
mental arts, are honest. That it is not enough barely 
to satisfy one's own conscience of the honesty of a 
course, or even to meet the demands of the mere 
letter of God's word respecting rigid justice, is mani- 
fest in many ways. The Scripture abounds in proof: 
"Provide things honest in the sight of all men" — not 
merely honest in the sight of God, in the sight of 
yourself, in the sight of some men — your partial 
friends and neighbours, or those who practise the 
same things — but in the sight of all men. Let 
your probity be above all doubt and suspicion in the 
eyes of men, who understand what your conduct is. 
The apostle laid down no more rigid rule for others 
than he was willing to be governed by himself. He 
says that he and his coadjutors provided for honest 
things, not only in the sight of the Lord, but in the 
sight of all men. 2 Cor. viii. 21. Selden says: 
"They that cry down moral honesty, cry down that 
which is a great part of religion — my duty toward 



514 THE EIGHTH COMMANDMENT. 

God and my duty toward men. What care I to see 
a man run after a sermon, if lie cozen and cheat as 
soon as he comes home? On the other side, morality 
must not be without religion ; for if so, it may change 
as I see convenient. Religion must govern it. He 
that has no religion to govern his morality, is not 
better than my mastiff dog; so long as you stroke him 
and please him, and do not pinch him, he will play 
with you, as finely as may be ; he is a very good, 
moral master ; but if you hurt him, he will fly in your 
face." 

Let us then look at the great principle of honesty, 
as it ought to enter into our affairs, and see how it 
may be and often is violated. 

I. All robbery, theft, receiving stolen goods, 
forgery, embezzling, swindling, obtaining goods under 
false pretences, and cheating in every shape are con- 
trary to the eighth commandment. Ps. lxii. 10; Eph. 
iv. 28; Ps. L 18; Prov. xxix. 24; 1 Thess. iv. 6; 
Prov. xi. 1, xx. 10; Amos viii. 5. These things are 
more near akin to each other than some suppose. 
Mark x. 19. As this part of the subject is generally 
well-understood, and warmly entertained by most 
who will read this book, it is not necessary to dwell 
upon it. A few observations, however, will not be 
amiss. One is, that the law of honesty makes no 
extenuation of these or like sins, because they are 
practised against the rich. It is as dishonest un- 
righteously to possess the goods of one class as of 
another. True, in taking unjustly from the poor, 
we commonly add oppression to dishonesty, and thus 
perpetrate two crimes. But we are not to grade 
dishonesty by the worldly estate of him whom we 



THE EIGHTH COMMANDMENT. 



515 



defraud. What if a man is able to bear the loss? 
If all men should treat him fraudulently, he would 
soon have nothing. Our sin is against the law 
of God chiefly and primarily, and not against the 
man. 

Another remark is, that the avails of our dishonesty 
are not to regulate our ideas of its criminality. He 
that unjustly holds a farthing, is as truly dishonest 
as he who has amassed a fortune by fraud. To pant 
after the dust of the earth on the heads of the poor, 
is as strictly forbidden as to covet thrones and em- 
pires not our own, Amos ii. 7. Ahab was as really 
wicked and unjust in covetously desiring and violently 
obtaining Naboth's vineyard, as if he had marched an 
army against the king of Syria, and taken his pos- 
sessions from him. Our offence cannot be measured 
by the amount unjustly secured. With one sentence 
our Saviour for ever settled this principle. " He that 
is faithful in that which is least, is faithful also in 
much ; and he that is unjust in the least, is unjust 
also in much," Luke xvi. 10. Compare Matt. xxv. 
21 ; Luke xix. 17. 

Another remark is, that corporations and the gov- 
ernment of the country in which we reside, sustain 
to us, in the matter of honesty, the same relations as 
individuals. He that will cheat a body of men, or 
his government, is as guilty as if he defrauded his 
neighbour. He who wrongs a corporation, not know- 
ing or caring who may be thereby affected, shows a 
wicked principle in general, a malignity against his 
race. He who will not render unto Caesar the things 
which are Caesar's, who will not pay custom to whom 
custom is due, is not likely to render unto God the 



516 THE EIGHTH COMMANDMENT. 

things that are God's. All peculation, smuggling, 
false invoices, and unauthorized perquisites of office, 
making the government odious, are thus condemned 
by this precept. 

Another remark is, that no man can merge his indi- 
vidual moral responsibility in a corporation. It is 
sometimes said that " corporations have no souls," and 
there is painful evidence that some corporators have 
no consciences, or bad consciences, and do things act- 
ing jointly with others, which they would not dare to 
do acting alone. Such should not forget that he that 
goeth with a multitude to do evil, shall go with a mul- 
titude to suffer punishment, Pr.ov. xi. 21. 

II. All persons are bound to regard the law of 
honesty in making bargains, or contracts. To be a 
sharper is to have an unenviable distinction. It is 
wholly inconsistent with Christian principle. The 
rule of some, That we may buy as cheap as we can 
and sell as dear as we can, is liable to so many excep- 
tions, and must receive so many explanations before 
it ceases to conceal immorality, that it ought not to 
be received. We may not sell as dear as we can, nor 
buy as cheap as we can, when we deal with the igno- 
rant, who are no judges of the quality or value of 
the articles bought or sold. It would make any one 
infamous, were it known that he cheated a little child 
out of his pennies by giving him not half what he 
should have done. In any such case, one acts as dis- 
honest a part as if he had taken a ten-dollar note 
from one who cannot read and who supposes it is of 
a less denomination, and had given him only the 
change which he expected. Many who wish to buy 
or sell know almost nothing of the value of the com- 



THE EIGHTH COMMANDMENT. 



517 



modity in trade, and are dependent on the superior 
knowledge of their merchants. To deceive them is 
dishonest. One cannot say, Their eyes were open ; 
for on this subject they were without eyes and so were 
blind. The same exception holds in regard to the 
credulous, who are children in understanding. They 
are easily persuaded to buy or to sell at the price 
others may fix. To take advantage of their feeble 
minds or sanguine temperaments, is fraud. 

Nor may we buy as cheap, nor sell as dear as we 
can, when we deal with those who are in distress. 
The pressing want of another does not make our 
goods any more valuable in fact. To avail ourselves 
of his necessity, therefore, is to rejoice in his calamity, 
because it may be profitable to us. Such conduct shall 
not go unpunished, Prov. xvii. 5. To a drowning 
man, the end of a rope might be worth a whole estate. 
Shall one therefore sordidly bargain for a great reward 
before he extends assistance ? Prov. xxiv. 11, 12. One 
may say, I put him not in the water ; I brought him 
not into his present distress. But this alters not the 
case. The same is as true of the man who is hard 
pressed in his worldly affairs. 

Nor may we buy as cheap nor sell as dear as we 
can, when by heightening the defects of what we 
would buy, or by magnifying the value of what we 
would sell, we lead others into error. Such artifices 
are as old as trade among men, and are condemned 
in the Bible. "It is naught, it is naught, saith the 
buyer ; but when he is gone his way, then he boast- 
eth," Prov. xx. 14. This practice is not only odious, 
but soon ceases to gain its end. A. B. is a respecta- 
ble Christian man. He is worth a handsome estate. 

44 



518 THE EIGHTH COMMANDMENT. 



He lives in a small city. Not a shop-keeper is igno- 
rant that he never gives what is first asked by his 
merchant. The consequence is, that when he prices 
an article, every one asks more than he is willing to 
take. But the very entrance of this good man into a 
shop awakens significant hints and looks. 

It sometimes occurs even in free governments that 
a state of things very much like a monopoly exists, 
putting much in the power of one man or of a few 
men. A fire, a drought, a storm, or a war, may leave 
one man, or a few men, in possession of an article of 
no great value in itself, yet much needed by their 
neighbours or others. Then to sell as dear as we can 
is dishonest. " He that witholdeth corn, the people 
shall curse him ; but blessing shall be upon the head 
of him that selleth it," Prov. xi. 26. 

Nor is it honest to buy as cheap or sell as dear as 
we can when threats or deceitful promises, or flattery, 
or any such art is employed to influence the minds of 
those with whom we deal. 

Here it may be observed that in trading generally, 
men are apt to use too many words. They say more 
than is good. They do not fix their prices or make 
their offers at what is right or fair, and then abide by 
it. There is a great deal of lying in the world in the 
driving of bargains. 

Self-interest is in all ages the most powerful princi- 
ple at work in the commercial world. From the in- 
fluence of it even good men are not wholly free. If 
one feels doubtful, therefore, let his neighbour have 
the benefit of his doubts ; for the uncertainty proba- 
bly arises from a conflict between selfishness on the 
one hand and conscience on the other. Let every man 



THE EIGHTH COMMANDMENT. 519 



keep fairly and unquestionably within the bounds of 
justice and honour. 

Sometimes it occurs with the poor that in making 
bargains, they habitually or with indecent frequency 
and urgency plead their poverty, in favour of terms 
advantageous to themselves. Such seldom succeed 
for a long time, and even then with the loss of char- 
acter. Such a practice is unmanly and so is dishon- 
est. If any really needs charity, let him ask charity ; 
but in trade, let justice and honour hold the scale. 

III. As but few things have any real intrinsic 
value in trade, we still want a rule, by which to be 
governed. Perhaps this is as safe a maxim as any 
other. In all buying and selling, a fair equivalent 
according to the general and regular tenor of things 
ought always to be given or received. There is a fair 
market price for every thing in common use. Men 
having no interest in the purchase or sale, and know- 
ing the facts in the case would seldom disagree re- 
specting it. Articles of a rare quality, intended 
merely for luxury or ornament, and obtained at very 
great risk of loss, may be unsettled in value, and 
more scope may be left for the exercise of a general 
discretion. But of most things bought and sold, it is 
possible for us to ascertain the fair market price, and 
that ought to be given or received, no more and no 
less. It is true that in merchandizing, on some things 
there will necessarily be loss. This ought to be met 
by increased profit on others. But then no price 
should be unconscionable. All extortion is forbidden, 
Ezek. xxii. 12 ; Matt, xxiii. 25. It is also true that 
he who sells only for an equivalent in hand, may sell 
cheaper than he who runs the risk and incurs the 



520 THE EIGHTH COMMANDMENT. 



delay of a credit. But to charge two prices to him 
who has not the means of ready payment, but who 
may reasonably expect to have them in possession, is 
unjust, and so is dishonest. If he who buys on 
credit knew how much more he was charged than his 
neighbour who buys for cash, he would deal no more 
there. " Do unto others as ye would that they do 
unto you." 

IV. When bargains contain promissory engage- 
ments, let every man adhere to his word, cost what it 
may. One description of a good man is, that " he 
swear eth to his own hurt and changeth not." Ps. xv. 
4. Domat : " In all sorts of engagements, whether 
voluntary or involuntary, it is forbidden to use any 
infidelity, double dealing, deceit, knavery, and all 
other ways of doing hurt or wrong." " The getting 
of treasures by a lying tongue is a vanity tossed to 
and fro of them that seek death." Prov. xxi. 6. Is 
there not a lamentable want of veracity manifested in 
many contracts ? What could more painfully afflict a 
virtuous mind, than the ten thousand rash promises 
made respecting the fulfilment of contracts ? 

Y. The Bible opposes the system of debt and 
credit, at least when carried to such lengths as we 
sometimes see. " Owe no man any thing, but to love 
one another." Rom. xiii. 8. If the debtor is honest, 
he is to a painful extent servant to the creditor. 
The spirit of many a man is crushed out by a sense 
of his indebtedness to others. His goods are dis- 
trained for rent ; the peace of his mind' or of his 
family is impaired ; he finds himself avoiding par- 
ticular walks lest he should meet the man to whom 
he owes money. Every dun puts him in anguish or 



THE EIGHTH COMMANDMENT. 521 



irritates his mind. We have no reason to believe that 
Paul ever resorted to borrowing as a means of reliev- 
ing his wants. In fact, we do know that when he 
was destitute of means, he went to tent-making. 
Acts xviii. 3, xx. 34. An honest mechanic or la- 
bourer may sleep sweetly and walk abroad composedly. 
But what is social position worth, when appearances 
are preserved only in the face of most painful facts 
respecting one's worldly estate? 

Debts may not be honestly contracted under the 
following circumstances. 1. When we have no rea- 
sonable prospect of paying them. In such cases it is 
swindling and robbery to take another man's property 
out of his hands. This is remarkably the case when 
the commodity received is of a perishable nature and 
is likely to be consumed before the day of payment 
arrives. A reasonable prospect of payment is some- 
thing not very precarious, something better than the 
prospect of a prize in a lottery, or of profit from a 
daring speculation. 2. He who is so careless of the 
condition of his own aifairs as not to know how they 
stand, and yet goes forward and contracts new respon- 
sibilities, violates the law of honesty. No man has a 
right to live in such ignorance of his worldly estate 
as not to be sure, when he receives a neighbour's 
goods, that he will in the ordinary and regular course 
of business be able to pay him ; and that too, 3. At 
the time agreed upon. Many, who are in the main 
upright men, and on the whole sustain a fair reputa- 
tion, are always so far behind 'their engagements as 
to require the most charitable construction of their 
conduct by friends and foes, to keep them from fall- 
ing into disrepute. A delay in payment, especially 
44* 



522 



THE EIGHTH COMMANDMENT. 



to the poor, and often to the rich, is as real, if not as 
great an injury as absolute failure to pay. It was a 
part of the code of Moses that the sun should not go 
down upon the hire of the labourer. Compare Deut. 
xxiv. 14, 15. 4. The Scriptures give no counte- 
nance to the practice of those who go on heedlessly 
and recklessly in their affairs, until insolvency ensues, 
and then compound with their creditors for five or ten 
shillings in the pound ; and even if able afterwards, 
do not pay the full sum due. Voluntary relinquish- 
ment of creditors in order to give further opportunity 
to acquire the means of payment may be accepted. 
But if ever the whole can be paid, let the bond fide 
offer be made, with money in hand. Once a debt 
always a debt unless freely forgiven, is a sound 
maxim. Rom. xiii. 8. If we had honest debtors and 
merciful creditors, we should need no bankrupt laws. 

VI. On the whole subject of our business affairs, 
these maxims, duly regarded, would save a world of 
trouble. 

1. Never engage in a business you do not under- 
stand, however inviting the prospect of gain. Prov. 
xiv. 8. 

2. Let not young men, who are in the way of ac- 
quiring a thorough knowledge of business, be hasty 
in setting up for themselves. Let them be patient. 

3. Avoid all highly hazardous speculations, even in 
a lawful business, except where they involve no more 
than you are able to lose without injury to your credi- 
tors or your family. You may not needlessly jeopard 
in wild adventures the rights of others. 

4. Always prefer a regular business to any new 
and striking scheme of making money. The latter 



THE EIGHTH COMMANDMENT. 



523 



may beget many beautiful dreams. The former is 
sustained by the usual course of divine providence. 
"The hand of the diligent maketh rich." Prov. x. 4. 
" Seest thou a man diligent in his business? He 
shall stand before kings ; he shall not stand before 
mean men." Prov. xxii. 29. 

5. Be not anxious to grow rich all of a sudden. 
" He that maketh haste to be rich shall not be inno- 
cent." Prov. xxviii. 20. 

6. Beware whom you admit as partners in busi- 
ness. Say not A confederacy, to all them that say 
A confederacy to you. Of plausible men the world 
is full. Safe men are scarce. Partners ought to 
have a congeniality in views, in temper, and in all 
the leading principles of business. Prov. xxii. 24 ; 
Amos iii. 3. 

7. If you have any regard for your peace and com- 
fort, avoid all suretyships, which exceed the amount 
you are able and willing to lose for your friend. " He 
that is surety for a stranger shall smart for it : and 
he that hateth suretyship is sure." Prov. xi. 15. It 
may be safely said that he is the only man that is 
sure. " Be not thou one of them that strike hands, 
or of them that are sureties for debts. If thou hast 
nothing to pay, why should he take away thy bed 
from under thee?" Prov. xxii. 26, 27. See also, 
Prov. vi. 1, xvii. 18, xx. 16, xxvii. 13. 

8. Practise no deceptions. Let "no man go be- 
yond and defraud his brother in any matter ; because 
that the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also 
have forewarned you and testified." 1 Thess. iv. 6. 
Never resort to false weights and measures. They 
are an abomination to God. Lev. xix. 36 ; Deut. 



524 THE EIGHTH COMMANDMENT. 




xxv. 13 ; Prov. xvi. 11, xx. 10, 23 ; Hos. xii. 7. 
Amos viii. 5 ; Micah vi. 11. Never adulterate goods. 
Always send the precise quality that was sold. Be- 
ware of all filthy lucre, that is, of all gain obtained in 
any manner dishonourable. 

9. Never buy any thing because it is cheap. What 
you do not need is dear at any price. 

VII. Are you already involved in debt ? Inquire 
whether you cannot in some important respects re- 
trench your usual expenses. Scorn to live in luxury, 
to roll in affluence or glitter in splendour, while you 
are unable to pay your debts. Your wife, if a pru- 
dent and honourable woman, will cheerfully submit to 
great self-denial. You will also find it useful to ascer- 
tain precisely how much you owe, and to keep the 
matter continually before you in memorandum. Be 
not afraid to know the state of your own affairs. 
Never avoid a creditor. Go to him with the manliness 
and fearlessness of uprightness. Tell him precisely 
how the case stands. Do not deceive him by plausi- 
ble statements and fair promises. Tell him your real 
prospects, and how you are labouring to meet your 
liabilities. Remember that your charities ought not 
to be bountiful, while you are in debt ; because in 
giving away, you rather dispose of the goods of others 
than of your own. Yet, be not hard-hearted. With- 
out money, you may do a little to help the deserving 
poor. Also settle it in your mind that you will never 
make over your estate to some who will hold it for 
your benefit or that of your family, in order to keep 
your creditors from getting it. Never ask your 

WIFE TO RELINQUISH HER RIGHTS OF PROPERTY, WHICH 

was hers before your indebtedness. Never begin 



THE EIGHTH COMMANDMENT. 



525 



the ruinous practice of paying usurious interest. 
Exercise rigid economy. Work day and night at 
your lawful and honest calling. Observe with regu- 
larity seasons of devotion in secret, in the family, 
and in the house of God. Never suffer your mind to 
be annoyed with worldly affairs on the Lord's day. 
Maintain a cheerful and inflexible resolution to bear 
up like a man and a Christian under your great afflic- 
tions. Resist melancholy. As you acquire even a 
little, hand it over to your creditors. Beware of 
needlessly expending small sums. Cry to God for 
deliverance. Think not that he will scorn your hum- 
ble, fervent petitions. 

To a young man in debt, Dr. Franklin gave the fol- 
lowing advice : " Make a full estimate of all you owe, 
and of all that is owing to you. Reduce the same to 
note. As fast as you can collect, pay over to those 
you owe. If you cannot, renew your note every year, 
and get the best security you can. — Go to business 
diligently and be industrious ; waste no idle moments; 
be very economical in all things ; discard all pride ; 
be faithful in your duty to God, by regular and 
hearty prayer morning and night ; attend church and 
meeting regularly every Sunday; and do unto all 
men as you would that they should do unto you. If 
you are too needy in circumstances to give to the poor, 
do whatever else is in your power for them cheer- 
fully, but if you can, help the poor and unfortunate. 
Pursue this course diligently and sincerely for seven 
years, and if you are not happy, comfortable and 
independent in your circumstances, come to me and 
I will pay your debts." 

VIII. In matters of trust, observe the utmost 



526 THE EIGHTH COMMANDMENT. 

exactness. Are you a treasurer of any institution? 
You cannot be too careful in your accounts, nor too 
cautious in the disposition of funds. Are you an 
agent, and so entrusted with money ? Never spend 
it for your own convenience or comfort. Many a man 
has gone to his grave with a wounded reputation and 
an aching heart, because he had spent money that did 
not belong to him. He hoped indeed soon to replace 
it ; but his expectation was like the mirage of the 
desert. Paul's example in this behalf is worthy of 
close imitation. He raised many collections and dis- 
tributed them. But he tells us that he " avoided 
this, that no man should blame us in this abundance 
which is administered by us." 2 Cor. viii. 20. Are 
you a guardian of such as are not able in law to re- 
present themselves ? The courts of the land will 
very properly hold you to a strict account. Careless- 
ness and mismanagement will almost certainly bring 
terrible exposure and anguish. But the sin of such 
conduct is worse than the shame. It is in the teeth 
of the eighth commandment. In all fiduciary matters, 
keep your behaviour on the highest key of morality. 

The class of offences against this precept entitled 
breaches of trust is very numerous. Many have ex- 
pressed wonder that they are not punished as felonies. 

IX. Not a little sin is committed in borrowing. 
Sometimes indeed it is necessary. " From him that 
would borrow of thee, turn not thou away." Matt. v. 
42. But as little borrowing as possible ought to be re- 
sorted to. For, 1. " The borrower is servant to the 
lender." 2. Men are often tempted not to return, 
at least with promptness, what they have borrowed. 
Some yield to this temptation. Ps. xxxvii. 21. 3. 



THE EIGHTH COMMANDMENT. 



527 



That which we borrow may be lost, and we may be 
unable to replace it ; and then our position is truly 
distressing. 2 Kings vi. 5. The law of Scripture is, 
" If a man borrow aught of his neighbour, and it be 
hurt, or die, the owner thereof being not with it, 
he shall surely make it good," Ex. xxii. 14, and 
this sometimes he is quite unable to do. Then 
hard thoughts and speeches are apt to ensue, and the 
peace of the neighbourhood is broken. 

Some have attempted to justify borrowing without 
any intention of returning, (if they think they have 
been injured) by citing the case of the Israelites' bor- 
rowing jewels from the Egyptians. Ex. xii. 35, 36. In 
that passage, the words borrowed and lent are found ; 
and the original words may be so rendered. But it 
is now generally conceded that the translation is wrong. 
It would be better, and the Hebrew would bear it, to 
render the words asked and gave; for this is doubt- 
less the sense. The text confirms this view, by say- 
ing that G-od gave the 'people favour in the sight of the 
Egyptians, that is, for a little while, being crushed by 
plagues and having their hearts touched by God's 
Spirit, a sense of justice and of kindness prevailed. 
Josephus expresses it ; " They honoured them with 
gifts." So that this passage gives no countenance to 
the bad morals taught in some books of Romish 
Theology, that a servant may defraud his master to 
, the amount of what he supposes is his due. Borrow- 
ing may be and often is so conducted as to be in ef- 
fect the same as theft. When it is proper to lend, it 
should be done heartily and freely. Deut. xxiii. 20 ; 
Luke vi. 35. Many a time the best charity is not a 
gift, but a loan without interest. 



528 



THE EIGHTH COMMANDMENT. 



X. We may never steal. There is an im- 
pression among some that dependent persons, or 
the poor, may take that which belongs not to 
them, provided it is merely to satisfy the demands 
of hunger or to meet necessary wants. Even Solomon 
says, "Men do not despise a thief, if he steal to 
satisfy his soul when he is hungry." Prov. vi. 30. 
And Agur prayed that he might not be poor, lest he 
should steal. Prov. xxx. 9. But all such taking what 
belongs to others is dishonest. Man's standard of 
ethics, especially when drawn from his appetite, is 
very low. The word of God makes no such allow- 
ance. In this very case it says, "If the thief be 
found, he shall restore seven-fold; he shall give all 
the substance of his house." Prov. vi. 31. Hopkins: 
"Though his necessity and hunger may take off some- 
what from the shame, yet it shall not from the pun- 
ishment of his offence, but he shall restore that which 
he hath stolen seven-fold. Not that the restitution 
should be seven times as much as the theft, for the 
utmost that the law requires was but a five-fold resti- 
tution, Ex. xxii. 1 ; but as the word seven-fold is most 
frequently used in Scripture to signify that which is 
complete and perfect, so is it here, 4 he shall restore 
seven-fold,' that is, he shall make a full and satis- 
factory restitution." 

XI. Restitution. The closing remark of the pre- 
ceding paragraph suggests this important matter. Why 
should not men restore that which they have wrongfully 
withheld or taken away, or that which they may not 
longer lawfully hold? Common justice demands it. The 
law of Moses required it. David's sentence against 
him that took the poor man's lamb, was this: "The 



THE EIGHTH COMMANDMENT. 



529 



man that hath done this thing shall surely die ; and 
he shall restore the lamb four-fold, because he did 
this thing, and because he had no pity." 2 Sam. xii. 
5, 6. Zaccheus understood that he lived under the 
same law. "If I have taken any thing from any 
man by false accusation, I restore him four-fold." 
Luke xix. 8. Domat: "It is a natural law, that he 
who has been the author of my damage ought to re- 
pair it." "Unjust possession is a continued and 
prolonged theft, and certainly repentance can never 
be true, nor sincere, while we continue in the sin of 
which we seem to repent; and thy repentance not 
being true, pardon will never be granted thee." 
God's word is very explicit: "If the wicked restore 
the pledge, give again that he had robbed, walk in 
the statutes of life without committing iniquity; he 
shall surely live, he shall not die." Ezek. xxxiii. 15. 
And if the person to whom restitution was at first 
due, is dead, payment can be made to his heirs. 
But if neither he nor they can be found, then it is to 
be made to the Lord. Num. v. 6-8. Surely the law 
of good neighbourhood requires us no less to restore 
that which has strayed from its owner or has been 
lost by him. Deut. xxii. 1-3. Nor would high-toned 
honour consent to receive a reward for returning that 
which had been lost, unless time or money had been 
expended for its recovery. The law of Moses very 
fitly required that a man who injured another in a 
fight, if he did not die, should pay him for the loss 
of his time, and cause him to be thoroughly healed. 
Ex. xxi. 19. 

XII. Begging. This is a sad evil in many parts of 
the world. In some portions of Europe and in the large 

46 



530 



THE EIGHTH COMMANDMENT. 



cities of America, it is a great sore on the body politic. 
What legislation can do in the matter, statesmen must 
decide. But let the conscience of each one settle it 
that beggars who could get employment, and who are 
able to work for a livelihood, ought not to be 
countenanced. The law of Scripture and the law of 
nature are clear upon this point. "In the sweat of 
thy face shalt thou eat thy bread." Gen. iii. 19. 
"Even when we were with you, this we commanded 
you, that if any would not work, neither should he 
eat." 2 Thess. iii. 10. Compare verses 11, 12. 
Every man ought to set his face steadfastly against a 
system of mendicity. Everywhere the Scriptures 
pronounce against the slothful. Prov. xii. 27, xv. 19, 
xviii. 9, xix. 24; Rom. xii. 11. So far, therefore, as 
beggary is the result of indolence persisted in, the 
duty of those who have means is to refuse assist- 
ance. 

XIII. Frugality consists in avoiding needless ex- 
penditures which we are not able to afford. " Frugality 
may be termed the daughter of Prudence, the sister 
of Temperance, and the parent of Liberty." It is 
essential to the peace of our lives. The want of it 
brings on a world of wretchedness ; while its exercise 
greatly conduces to our happiness. Prov. xxi. 20. 

XIV. Poverty. There may be virtuous poverty, 
though often we find vicious poverty. Poverty is a 
disgrace when it is the result of indolence, slothful- 
ness, carelessness, or extravagance. Prov. vi. 10, 11. 
But it is no discredit to any man when he was born 
poor; or when he has made himself poor for the 
benefit of others; or when after careful industry and 
all lawful exertion and prudence, God leaves him 



THE EIGHTH COMMANDMENT. 531 



without ample means. In that case, we should be 
content with those things we have. Heb. xiii. 5. 

Abject poverty is a great misery and a source of 
much temptation. Prov. xxx. 9. Yet God may have 
great ends to answer in the world by keeping some of 
his best people in great straits. The poor are in danger 
of hardening their hearts against one another. No 
less than the rich they ought to believe that u it is 
more blessed to give than to receive." No man has 
ever practised on this precept without finding it true. 
It is as true now as ever, that a he that hath pity 
upon the poor lendeth unto the Lord ; and that which 
he hath given will he pay him again." No man is in 
the end a loser for any willing sacrifice or self-denial 
practised for the good of others. He enjoys life far 
better than the selfish man. He has a vast store- 
house of good laid up for him. To him the promises 
are many and wonderful. "The Lord will preserve 
him and keep him alive ; and he shall be blessed upon 
the earth: and thou wilt not deliver him to the will 
of his enemies. The Lord will strengthen him upon 
the bed of languishing : thou wilt make all his bed in 
his sickness." 

Nor should any one regard himself as too poor to 
do something. The reason why the small gift of the 
poor woman was greater than that of all the rich was, 
that she gave "all her living," and they did not. 
She had to practise self-denial to give any thing. 
They only cast in of their abundance. He that shall 
finally reward the giving of a cup of cold water, will 
not be unfaithful to forget any work of faith or labour 
of love. In Stevenson's Exposition of the twenty- 
third Psalm, we have this little narrative : 



♦ 532 THE EIGHTH COMMANDMENT. 

" The long-tried and consistent piety of the wife of 
a poor labourer had attracted the regard of her 
wealthier neighbours. She was one of those happy 
Christians whose holy cheerfulness of manner adorns 
their profession of the gospel. She 'rejoiced and 
wrought righteousness,' and 'remembered the Lord in 
his ways.' She had gained the esteem of all who 
knew her, and now that a slow but sure decline ren- 
dered her incapable of contributing to her own sup- 
port, some pious friends agreed together to provide 
her regularly with those little comforts which were so 
necessary to her sinking condition. The Lord thus 
met her necessity by their instrumentality. But she 
knew not that he had awakened this thought within 
the hearts of any of them. Her own heart was 
stayed upon the heart of her God. As she stood one 
afternoon in her humble doorway to breathe the 
balmy air, she observed three objects of misery 
soliciting alms in the street. Her heart pitied the 
famished mother and her two tattered children, but 
all the money that she possessed was her last and 
only sixpence. Every article of provision in the 
house had been already consumed. Without delay 
or hesitation, however, she drew from her pocket the 
little coin which was needed for her own necessities, 
and freely bestowed it on the widow and the father- 
less. She considered that all her own wants for the 
day had been supplied, and that she ought not to be 
distrustful for the morrow. ' I have a heavenly 
Friend,' she said within herself, Ho provide for me, 
and perhaps this poor woman does not know the 
God that is above. I have no one to think of ; she 
has these two children to struggle for. I know my 



THE EIGHTH COMMANDMENT. 



533 



own need, but they are more needy than L' That 
very evening the individual deputed by her unknown 
friends visited her dwelling to inform her of their 
kind determination; and great was her astonishment 
and gratitude to hear that a sum double the amount 
she had that day given to the poor wanderers, was to 
be her daily allowance during the remainder of her 
life. It pleased the Lord to spare her two years, as 
she declared, 'in plenty and comfort.'" 

So in every case God will be as good as his word, 
as gracious as he has promised to be. All the pro- 
mises are yea and amen. 

XY. Money. The Bible says nothing against 
money. It admits that it is a defence, and answers 
all tilings, Eccles. vii. 12, x. 19. After Job's resto- 
ration to prosperity, "'every man gave him a piece of 
money," Job xlii. 11. What the Scriptures warn us 
against is the abuse of that which is good. 1. We 
must not set our hearts upon it ; nor' be distracted 
with the care of it. " The love of money is the root 
of all evil," 1 Tim. vi. 10 ; Matt. vi. 21. 2. We must 
not employ it for purposes of sinning, Acts viii. 20. 
3. We must not rely upon it, 1 Tim. vi. 17. 4. We 
must not hoard it up with greediness, James v. 1-3. 
5. We must not use it to make ourselves wanton in 
life, James v. 5. 6. We must not needlessly squan- 
der it, Isa. lv. 2. 7. We must not use it for pur- 
poses of oppression, Lev. xxv. 37 ; Deut. xxiii. 19 ; 
Ps. xv. 5. 8. We must not be led by a regard to it 
to disobey any of God's commands, 2 Chron. xxv. 
9. 9. We must give to the poor, and thus lay up 
treasure in heaven, Luke xii. 33, 34. And we ought 
to give for conscience' sake, because we thus desire 
45* 



534 THE EIGHTH COMMANDMENT. 




to honour God, Prov. iii. 9. Our alms ought to be 
cheerful and according to our ability, 1 Cor. xvi. 2 ; 
2 Cor. ix. 7. Our liberality ought also to be unos- 
tentatious. Our Lord settled this matter in his Ser- 
mon on the Mount, Matt. vi. 2-4. All the reasons of 
this command we may not know ; but we do know two 
reasons, either of which is sufficient. 1. We ought, 
as far as possible, to save the feelings of those who 
are profited by our kindness, Ruth ii. 16. 2. All van- 
ity in religion is very disgusting to well-balanced and 
well-instructed minds. Our liberality should be abun- 
dant towards the truly needy. In particular they 
should never be forgotten in days of unusual gladness, 
Neh. viii. 10. Our liberality should be out of our 
own funds. Eccl. xi. 1; 1 John iii. 17. Durham tells 
us the story of " Selymus, ^the Turkish emperor, a 
most bloody man, that when he was a dying, one of 
his Bashaws desiring him to build a hospital for relief 
of the poor with the wealth taken from the Persian 
merchants, he replied thus, "Wouldst thou, Pyrrhus, 
that I should bestow other men's goods, wrongfully 
taken from them, on works of charity and devotion, 
for mine own vain-glory and praise? assuredly I 
will never do it; nay, rather that they be bestowed 
on the right owners again; which was accordingly 
done." 

XVI. When God gives us good things richly, it is 
that we may enjoy them. 1 Tim. vi. 17. It is a great 
reproach to religion when God opens his hand liberally 
and supplies our wants, that we should stingily with- 
hold them from ourselves and our dependents. " He 
hath made every thing beautiful in his time. ... I 
know that there is no good in them, but for a man to 



THE EIGHTH COMMANDMENT. 



535 



rejoice, and to do good in his life. And also that 
every man should eat and drink, and enjoy the good 
of all his labour; it is the gift of God." Eccles. iii. 
11-13. Compare Eccles. iv. 8, vi. 1, 2. 

XVII. One species of sin against this command- 
ment is common in all ages and countries. It relates 
to boundary lines between neighbours. The forms 
in which this sin is committed are exceedingly 
numerous, but they are all forbidden under the 
general prohibition to alter land-marks. Deut. xix. 
14, xxvii. 17 ; Job xxiv. 2 ; Prov. xxii. 28, xxiii. 
10. 

XVIII. A sin kindred to the last mentioned is 
greed for land beyond our necessities, and a desire to 
hold it for its own sake. There is no little of this 
spirit in some parts of the world; and yet there is no 
mode of violating this commandment more strictly 
forbidden. "Woe unto them that join house to 
house, that lay field to field, till there be no place, 
that they may be placed alone in the midst of the 
earth." Isa. v. 8. Compare Micah ii. 2. 

XIX. The Scriptures do not require a community 
op GOODS. " The Most High has divided to the 
nations their inheritance." Deut. xxxii. 8. He 
divided to the tribes of Israel and to each family in 
every tribe a separate portion. He taketh also the 
desolate and setteth him in families. It is true indeed 
that when the church was in her infant state in Jeru- 
salem, and had great numbers of poor and sufferina- 
members, God poured out a spirit of liberality, ac- 
cording to the exigencies of the case, and " all that 
believed were together, and had all things common ; 
and sold their possessions and goods, and parted them 



536 THE EIGHTH COMMANDMENT. 

to all men, as every man had need." Acts ii. 44, 45. 
But this was wholly a voluntary and temporary ar- 
rangement. In addressing Ananias, Peter expressly 
said, that there was no law on the subject binding any 
man, " While it remained, was it not thine own ? and 
after it was sold, was it not in thine own power?" Acts 
v. 4, 

XX. What shall we say of law-suits ? It is very 
clear that litigiousness is contrary to the spirit of the 
gospel. Our Saviour said, " If any man will sue thee 
at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy 
cloak also." Matt. v. 40. This passage has been 
uniformly understood as a call upon us to repress that 
natural desire for insisting upon our legal rights 
before courts. Paul also warns his Corinthians to 
abstain from all litigation before heathen magistrates. 
1 Cor. vi. 1-7. Let no man go to law for a mere 
trifle, involving no principle. " A bad settlement is 
better than a good law-suit." Avoid a law-suit, if 
you can, without wrong to some one. 

XXI. Perhaps one of the most common errors 
respecting property is the neglect of hearty 
prayer to God on that subject. " Then shalt thou re- 
member the Lord thy God : for it is he that giveth 
thee power to get wealth." Deut. viii. 18. "Feed 
me with food convenient for me." Prov. xxx. 8. " In 
all thy ways acknowledge him." Prov. iii. 6. "Give 
us this day our daily bread." Matt. vi. 11. 

XXII. Sometimes- theft and robbery are committed 
directly against God. He is the rightful proprietor 
of all things. Whatever therefore he claims as proper 
for his worship, our time, the time of our servants, 
our property and our affections, should be sincerely 



THE EIGHTH COMMANDMENT. 



53T 



rendered to him. " Will a man rob God ? Yet ye 
have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we 
robbed thee ? In tithes and offerings. Ye are cursed 
with a curse : for ye have robbed me, even this whole 
nation." Mai. iii. 8, 9. Compare John x. 1. Sacri- 
lege is a heinous sin. " It is a snare to the man who 
devour eth that which is holy." Prov. xx. 25. The sin 
that filled up the measure of the iniquity of the 
haughty monarch of Babylon was taking the vessels 
of God's house, and thus lifting himself up against 
the Lord of heaven. Dan. v. 23. 

XXIII. It should greatly deter us from any and 
every violation of this precept that God visits awful 
judgments upon those who transgress it. " The rob- 
bery of the wicked shall destroy them." Prov. xxi. 7. 
" As the partridge sitteth on eggs, and hatcheth them 
not, so he that getteth riches, and not by right, shall 
leave them in the midst of his days, and at his end 
shall be a fool." Jer. xvii. 11. Compare Ps. lv. 23 ; 
Prov. xxii. 23 ; Hab. ii. 6-13 ; Zeh. v. 3, 4 ; 1 Cor. vi. 
10 ; James v. 1-6. 

XXIV. On the other hand an exceedingly rich . 
blessing is surely promised to those who obey this 
commandment. " A little that a righteous man hath 
is better than the riches of many wicked." Ps. xxxvii. 
16. Compare Prov. xvi. 8 ; Matt. vi. 9-34 ; Matt, 
xxv. 31-44 ; 1 Tim. vi. 17-19. 

CONCLUSION. 

Never in any wise be an instrument of sowing the 
seeds of enmity between the rich and the poor. 

If you are poor, beware of envying the rich. If 



538 " THE EIGHTH COMMANDMENT. 



you knew their crosses and their miseries, you would 
probably think them heavier than your own. James 
v. 9 ; Ecc. v. 12. 

If you are rich, beware of despising the poor. In 
so doing you reproach your Maker. Prov. xvii. 5. 



THE NINTH COMMANDMENT. 



539 



CHAPTER XXIII. 
THE NINTH COMMANDMENT. 

THOU SHALT NOT BEAR FALSE WITNESS AGAINST THY 
NEIGHBOUR. 

THE tongue is, at the same time, the best part of 
man, and his worst : with good government, none 
is more useful ; and without it, none is more mischie- 
vous. — Anacharsis. 

A wound from a tongue is worse than a wound from 
the sword. — Pythagoras. 

There is nothing so delightful as the hearing or 
speaking of truth. — Plato. 

Truth is the object of our understanding, as good is 
of our will ; and the understanding can no more be 
delighted with a lie, than the will can choose appa- 
rent evil. — Dryden. 

There are but ten precepts of the law of God, and 
two of them, so far as concerns the outward organ 
and vent of the sins there forbidden, are bestowed on 
the tongue (one in the first table, and the other in the 
second table,) as though it were ready to fly out, both 
against God and man, if not thus bridled. — Leighton. 

Truth, like light, travels only in straight lines. — 
Colton. 



540 



THE NINTH COMMANDMENT. 



Truth will be uppermost, one time or other, like cork, 
though kept down in the water. — Sir William Temple. 

Truth is the foundation of all knowledge and the 
cement of all societies. — Casaubon. 

Truth and Falsehood, travelling one warm day, met 
at a well, and both went in to bathe at the same place. 
Falsehood coming first out of the water, took his 
companion's clothes, leaving his own vile raiment, 
and went on his way. Truth, coming out of the 
water sought in vain for his own proper dress — dis- 
daining to wear the garb of Falsehood. Truth 
started, all naked, in pursuit of the thief, but not 
being so swift of foot, has never overtaken the fugi- 
tive, and has ever since been known as naked truth. 
— Anon. 

" Let us remember that not our actions only, but the 
fruits of our lips are to be brought into the solemn 
account, which we must give to the great Judge of all 
the earth ; and that the day is coming when all our 
idle and unprofitable talk which has proceeded from 
the evil treasure of a depraved heart, will undergo 
a strict examination. . . . And if foolish and wicked 
speeches are to be accounted for in the day of judg- 
ment, let us set a watch on the door of our lips to 
prevent them, and labour daily to use our tongue so 
that it may indeed be, as it is in Scripture called, 
our glory." — Doddridge. 

" Tale-bearing is as bad an office as a man' can put 
himself into, to be the publisher of every man's faults, 
divulging what was secret, aggravating crimes, and 
making the worst of everything that was amiss, with 
a design to blast and ruin men's reputation, and to 
sow discord among neighbours. The word used for a 



THE NINTH COMMANDMENT. 



541 



tale-bearer signifies a pedler or petty chapman, the in- 
terlopers of trade ; for tale-bearers pick up ill-natured 
stories at one house, and utter them at another, and 
commonly barter slander by way of exchange." — M. 
Henry. 

" When we are not able wholly to separate from 
the wicked, we should double our watchfulness, and 
especially impose a strict restraint upon our tongues, 
lest we should be betrayed into boasting, reviling, 
slandering, flattering, or trifling conversation ; remem- 
bering that they will criticise every expression, and 
turn it, if they can, to our disadvantage, and to the 
discredit of religion. Sometimes it may be necessary 
to keep silence even from good words, when they are 
likely to excite profane contempt or rage ; yet in 
general we run into an extreme when we are back- 
ward to engage in edifying discourse." — T. Scott. 

He said, surely they are my people, children that 
will not lie : so he was their Saviour. — Isaiah. 

Speak ye every man the truth to his neighbour. — 
Zechariah. 

Perhaps on no one point of morals has so much 
been written or spoken as on the use of the tongue. 
Ancients and moderns, heathen and Christians, have 
alike said many excellent things. 

The pen is subject to the same laws as the tongue. 
It is an artificial tongue, speaking to those at a dis- 
tance in time or place. What a man may not speak, 
he should not write. Indeed, writing evil things often 
does more harm than speaking them. Sir T. Brown : 
" Scholars are men of peaee ; they bear no arms, but 
their tongues are sharper than Aetius' razor ; their 
pens carry further, and give a louder report than 
46 



542 THE NINTH COMMANDMENT. 

thunder. I had rather stand in the shock of a basi- 
lisk, than in the fury of a merciless pen." 

We may sin not only by the words used, but also 
by the tones with which they are spoken, and by looks 
and gestures. The language of pantomime is univer- 
sal, vigorous, and easily perverted. "A naughty 
person, a wicked man, walketh with a froward mouth. 
He winketh with his eyes, he speaketh with his feet, 
he teacheth with his fingers." Prov. vi. 12, 13. 

In many ways we may sin with our tongues. 
Laurentius enumerates as many sins of the tongue 
as there are letters in the alphabet. In his Chris- 
tian Directory, Richard Baxter gives a list of thirty 
sins of speech, beginning with blasphemy. In ex- 
pounding the third and ninth commandments, the 
Westminster Assembly makes the number still lar- 
ger. There is, therefore, no want of matter on such 
a theme. 

Some speak too fast. Merely rapid articulation is 
not here intended. But statements made without re- 
flection, though not designed to mislead, are a great 
evil. " Seest thou a man hasty in his words ? There 
is more hope of a fool than of him." Prov. xxix. 20. 
The intellect of such is in a state unfriendly to accu- 
racy of knowledge or statement. He seldom improves 
in mind or manners. He jumps at conclusions, and 
wishes others to do the same. 

Others speak too often. When awake and in com- 
pany they are seldom silent. " From morn to night 
the ceaseless larum rings." In the absence of things 
weighty, wise or true ; trifles, folly, or falsehood serve 
their turn. It is a mark of intolerable self-conceit to 
be continually offering unsolicited opinions. Even 



THE NINTH COMMANDMENT. 



543 



the oracles of the heathen were sometimes silent, 
though paid for speaking. 

Others say too much. Not content with stating 
what is called for, they proceed to tiresome and sin- 
ful lengths. They are neither " swift to hear," nor 
" slow to speak." 

Others speak too soon. They do not inquire, 
listen and consider, but are ready to deliver their 
views at all times, and often in dashing style. " A 
wise man regardeth time and judgment," but they 
disregard both. " He that answer eth a matter be- 
fore he heareth it, it is folly and shame unto him." 
Prov. xviii. 13. 

As "there is a time to speak," so "there is a time 
to keep silence." Eccles. iii. 7. One of these times 
is when you have nothing pertinent to say. Another 
is, when others are speaking. Did any family ever 
come to much good, where the young were not taught 
to be- silent when the old were speaking, or where all 
the children were allowed to speak at once ? Another 
such time is when we first visit a friend overwhelmed 
with affliction. Some sympathies are best expressed 
by silence. Thus, Job's friends "sat down with 
him upon the ground seven days and seven nights, 
and none spake a word unto him; for they saw that 
his grief was very great." Job ii. 13. When others 
are greatly heated by passion, it is usually best to 
be silent. A very good man wrote down this rule, 
"I will never talk to an angry man." 

In general, men probably speak too much. The 
Scriptures warn us on this point. "A fool's voice is 
known by multitude of words." Eccles. v. 3. "A 
fool also is full of words." Eccles. x. 14. "In the 



544 



THE NINTH COMMANDMENT. 



multitude of words there wanteth not sin." Prov. x. 19. 
Garrulity is not always innocent. Even good and 
wise men censure it. One of our proverbs is, "The 
fool's tongue is long enough to cut his own throat." 
Babblers were never held in high esteem among a 
virtuous people. "Surely the serpent will bite with- 
out enchantment; and a babbler is no better." Eccles. 
x. 11. This odious character is often more or less 
acquired by those who suppose themselves unsuspected 
of it. Of many a man it is said, "He is not worth 
minding, he is always talking." This is a sign that 
all is not right. One may plead that he is a licensed 
character, and that he was always allowed to say just 
what he pleased. But it may be asked, Who signed 
and gave the license ? Can it be produced ? It 
never came from God, and good men would not dare 
to sanction what God condemns. If any man has such 
license, he forged it. By excessive talking professors 
of religion make sad the hearts of their brethren, and 
all men are less esteemed for it. The judgment of 
mankind is with Solomon, that "a fool uttereth all 
his mind; but a wise man keepeth it in till after- 
wards," Prov. xxix. 11; and that "even a fool, when 
he holdeth his peace, is counted wise; and he that 
shuttethhis lips is esteemed a man of understanding." 
Prov. xvii. 28. Some one has well said: "He is not 
a fool that hath unwise thoughts, but he that utters 
them." Quarles: "A word unspoken is, like the 
sword in the scabbard, thine. If vented, thy sword 
is in another's hand. If thou desire to be held wise, 
be so wise as to hold thy tongue." It is much to be 
lamented that some can never be cured of the folly 
of much speaking. To them silence is torture. Like 



THE NINTH COMMANDMENT. 



545 



one of the ancients they might say, "If I hold my 
tongue, I shall give up the ghost." Job xiii. 19. 
They know little of the peace and quiet of one who 
follows them not. "Whoso keepeth his mouth and 
his tongue, keepeth his soul from troubles." Pro v. 
xxi. 23. The troubles brought on by an unbridled 
tongue in this life are but a prelude to far worse in 
the next. 

Excessive talking is frequently attended by loud 
speaking. The former betrays self-conceit; the latter 
impudence. One feature of as bad a character as is 
sketched in Scripture is that "she is loud." Prov. 
vii. 11. "A foolish woman is clamorous; she is 
simple, and knoweth nothing." Prov. ix. 13. It was 
a bright ornament of the character of the divine Re- 
deemer that he was gentle and quiet, and did "not 
cry, nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard in the 
street." Isa. xlii. 2. He was not a clamorous person, 
but meek and lowly. 

Is the following a fancy sketch? When others 
were speaking, he was restless, and if ruled to entire 
silence, he was miserable. Ordinarily he seemed to 
have some amiable traits, but when others had the 
good sense to listen to his wit or wisdom, he was in a 
specially good temper. The more you attended to him, 
the louder and more emphatic he was. On nearly all 
subjects he knew something; on many, he knew much; 
on some, he was an oracle in his own esteem. When 
doomed to spend some time with those whose dignity 
restrained him, he might well have adopted the words 
of one who bears a part in the oldest epic poem 
extant. "I am full of matter, the spirit within con- 
straineth me. Behold my belly is as wine, which 
46* 



546 



THE NINTH COMMANDMENT. 



hath no vent; it is ready to burst like new bottles. I 
will speak that I may be refreshed." Job xxxii. 18— 
20. Our hero wished to pass for a benevolent man. 
He was great at a public meeting. He commonly 
said something, and was full of promises in aid of the 
cause. To fulfil them was far from him. His 
children caught his spirit, though in his presence 
they were sometimes forced to keep silence. But 
when they had a chance, they lost no time. Even 
on his death-bed the same propensity was sometimes 
manifest, and he left the world without seeming to 
know that he bore the character of a babbler. 

One of his townsmen was little like him. He was 
a man of few words. When he did speak he was 
heard with marked respect. If others were impatient, 
it was because he was slow to utter his mind. His 
maxim, was, "The fewer words, the less sin." He 
thought much and weighed his words well. Far re- 
moved from sourness, he was given to self-communion. 
His prayers were brief, but fervent and comprehen- 
sive. His words were well ordered. He was not 
hasty to utter any thing, especially before God. His 
sincerity was apparent. His word was as good as his 
bond or his oath. He was rarely required to explain 
or retract any of his statements ; but if he had been 
mistaken, he frankly said so. His children, though 
sprightly and joyous, were neither pert nor impudent. 
They honoured gray hairs. In him "the effect of 
righteousness was quietness and assurance for ever." 
Isa. xxxii. 17. His end was peace. Survivors 
generally mentioned his name with honour. His 
family never blushed to own him as their former guide 
and head. 



THE NINTH COMMANDMENT. 



547 



Would it not be wise for every man to say with a 
servant of God of the seventeenth century, "I am re- 
solved, by the grace of God, never to speak much, 
lest I often speak too much, and not to speak at all, 
rather than to no purpose." 

Our words should also be pure and chaste. How 
many narratives, anecdotes, songs, riddles, and ques- 
tions are indelicate, and therefore unchristian ! How 
many hints, allusions, innuendos, insinuations, and 
surmises are of this description ! Nearly every thing 
in the form of double entendre falls under the same 
condemnation. Whatever pollutes the mind is wicked, 
and never without necessity to be repeated. This 
class of evils is vastly sustained by the stage, by 
works of wit and fiction, and by many popular ballads. 
Tradition also shows both fidelity and industry in 
transmitting impure sayings from age to age. Those 
who thus sin sometimes excuse their conduct by saying 
that "unto the pure all things are pure," but they 
seem to forget that "unto them that are defiled and 
unbelieving is nothing pure; but even their mind and 
conscience is defiled." Tit. i. 15. This latter class 
constitutes no small portion of mankind. The sow 
washes more frequently than the sheep, and yet is 
not clean. The nature of the flock is to avoid the 
mire. Shun those who are foul-mouthed. Never 
smile at their impurity. Never imitate them. "Let 
no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, 
but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it 
may minister grace unto the hearers." Eph. iv. 29. 
"But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, ma- 
lice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your 
mouth." Col. iii. 8. "Be not deceived, evil commu- 



548 



THE NINTH COMMANDMENT. 



nications corrupt good manners." 1 Cor. xv. 33. 
Many who greatly offend against these laws of speech, 
would be both surprised and displeased if their sin 
was charged upon them. 

Another grievous sin of the tongue is flattery, 
which consists in undue or unseasonable praise. Few 
things are more ensnaring. Riches, talents, family, 
office, person, attainments, deeds of distinction, and 
even vices furnish occasions for it. Husbands flatter 
their wives, and wives their husbands ; parents their 
children, and children their parents ; ministers their 
people, and people their ministers, and all under the 
pretence of manifesting esteem. The poor flatter the 
rich, and demagogues the people. Yet all commen- 
dation is not flattery ; but that which exceeds the 
truth is always sinful, and untimely praise, even when 
true, disgusts wise men and puffs up the minds of the 
simple. It was a good purpose of Bishop Beveridge, 
" I am resolved, by the grace of God, to speak of 
other men's sins only before their faces, and of their 
virtues only behind their backs." The only excep- 
tion to this rule is that of necessity. Properly ob- 
served, it would banish a large part of social misery. 
Flattery is always an unkindness. "A man that 
flatter eth his neighbour, spreadeth a net for his feet." 
Prov. xxix. 5. Those are good words of Elihu — 
" Let me not accept any man's person, neither let me 
give flattering titles unto man. For I know not to 
give flattering titles ; in so doing my Maker would 
soon take me away." Job xxxii. 21, 22, Paul says, 
— ''Neither at any time used we flattering words." 1 
Thess. ii. 5. Courtly manners may require such 
words, but the truth, even bluntly spoken, is more 



THE NINTH COMMANDMENT. 



549 



pleasing to God. Almost all flatterers have some 
wicked design in view. " Discretion shall preserve 
thee from the stranger, that flattereth with her 
words." Prov. ii. 16. 

Nor is the sin or danger of flattery diminished when 
it is directed to ourselves. Indeed this is sometimes 
the worst of all. Plutarch said, " Every man is his 
own greatest flatterer." The undue commendation 
of others would harm us but little, if we were honest 
with our own hearts. "It is not good to eat much 
honey : so for men to search their own glory is not 
glory." Prov. xxv. 27. "Let another man praise 
thee and not thine own mouth ; a stranger, and not 
thine own lips." Prov. xxvii. 2. The only thing that 
can justify speaking in our own praise is the neces- 
sary defence of ourselves or our offices. Johnviii. 49. 
2 Cor. xii. 11-18. But let no man put upon himself 
a lower estimate than the truth requires. Ex. iv. 
10-14 ; Rom. xii. 3. 

This is a great evil under the sun. Kings have 
their courtiers, and few are sunk so low as not at 
times to have their sycophants. Yet if a man is 
really displeased with flattery, it will seldom be 
offered. To be pleased with it is to become a candi- 
date for shame, perhaps for ruin. Every human 
being is entitled to some respect. Even the guilty 
felon on his way to execution should not be mocked 
or rudely gazed at. Every well-meaning person is 
entitled to such treatment as will express approbation 
of his good character. But fawning servility is due 
to no mortal. " The Lord shall cut off all flattering 
lips." Ps. xii. 3. Among some "to be agreeable" is 
to be adulatory. This sin is one of the most degra- 



550 THE NINTH COMMANDMENT. 

ding to him who practises it, and tempting to him who 
is flattered. It greatly hinders the proper giving 
and receiving of reproof. One who was famous in 
his day said, " I will do my best to cross any man in 
his sins ; if I have not thanks of him, yet I shall of 
my own conscience." 

Flatterers are quite sure to be backbiters. This is 
neither conjecture, nor the mere fruit of observation. 
The Bible so teaches. " He that goeth about as a 
tale-bearer, revealeth secrets ; therefore meddle not 
with him that flattereth with his lips." Prov. xx. 19. 
A defeated flatterer is a malicious slanderer. His 
principles are bad. He who will lie in your favour 
will upon a turn lie against you. He who will unduly 
praise, will unduly censure. Flattery and slander 
are branches of the same trade, and are carried on by 
the same people. Those called in the Bible, " whis- 
perers," belong to the same class. They go about 
their work by stealth. They often enjoin secrecy on 
their dupes. To them an evil report is music. They 
are often very cunning in avoiding responsibility be- 
fore men, but God knows the filthiness of their hearts. 
Their career is sometimes long, but generally ends in 
open shame. They have sometimes poisoned the 
minds of many with their falsehoods. They often 
speak well of a man to his friends, but evil of him to 
his enemies. " He that uttereth a slander, is a fool." 
Prov. x. 18. A heathen once said, " the most danger- 
ous of wild beasts is a slanderer ; of tame ones, a 
flatterer." 

Men sometimes pretend to know some great evil of 
another, but will not tell what it is. They know that 
the human imagination, appealed to mysteriously, can 



THE NINTH COMMANDMENT. 



551 



soon outrun any common scale of enormity, and so 
they set it to work. That such conduct is mean, 
cruel, and indefensible, few will deny. Yet how 
many practise it ! And if, instead of going abroad 
with such or other charges against their neighbours, 
men would go directly to them, how much evil would 
be prevented. " Debate thy cause with thy neigh- 
bour himself, and discover not a secret to another, 
lest he that heareth it put thee to shame, and thine 
infamy turn not away." Prov. xxv. 9, 10. 

The law of love to man may be violated in speech 
without uttering a word that is not true. That no 
man is any better than he ought to be, is literally 
true, yet to say as much of any particular person is 
often slanderous in its effect, and may tear a good 
name to pieces. 

Tale-bearing and news-carrying are species of slan- 
der, and are very mischievous. In this more than in 
most ways, one man may produce deep and ex- 
tensive distress. Like the incendiary, who has fired 
a city and fled to an eminence to ravish his eyes with 
the progress of the ruin he has wrought, the tale- 
bearer loves to embroil families and communities, and 
then, if possible, escape unnoticed and unhurt. Often 
he is found out in time to receive the frowns of the 
virtuous, but commonly not till he has engendered 
strife. Paul says such persons were found in his day, 
" And withal they learn to be idle, wandering about 
from house to house ; and not only idle, but tattlers also 
and busy-bodies, speaking things which they ought 
not." 1 Tim. v. 13. Hopkins says that Paul here 
gives " a true description of giddy flies in our times, 
that are always roving from house to house, and 



552 



THE NINTH COMMANDMENT. 



skipping about, now to this man's ear, and by and by 
to that, and buzzing reports of what ill they have 
heard or observed of others." In the law of Moses 
is this statute, " Thou shalt not go up and down as a 
tale-bearer among thy people." Lev. xix. 16. "A 
tale-bearer revealeth secrets ; but he that is of a faith- 
ful spirit concealeth the matter." Prov. xi. 13. 
Every man, family, and firm have secrets, which it 
does not concern others to know. If by accident, or 
in confidence, they come to your knowledge, reveal 
them not. To be a spy upon your neighbour is a low 
occupation, and he to whom confidence is not sacred, 
is truly debased. None but the imprudent are in the 
habit of telling their, secrets. " If you would teach 
secrecy to others, begin with yourself. How can you 
expect another to keep a secret when you yourself 
cannot ?" It was a wise determination of a good man 
of the last generation, " In general, I will deal in 
secrets as little as possible." 

Much social misery is owing to tale-bearing. 
" Where no wood is, the fire goeth out ; so where 
there is no tale-bearer, the strife ceaseth." Prov. xxvi. 
20. The dreadful effects of this vile practice are 
clearly stated in Scripture. " The words of a tale- 
bearer are as wounds ; and they go down into the 
innermost parts of the belly." Prov. xviii. 8. Among 
the seven abominations which the Lord hates, four of 
them are, " a lying tongue, feet that be swift in run- 
ning to mischief, a false witness that speaketh lies, 
and he that soweth discord among brethren." Prov. 
vi. 17-19. Compare Prov. xi. 9. Lying in some 
form is a common attendant on tale-bearing. Useless 
strife always follows it. It argues a low mind, and a 



THE NINTH COMMANDMENT. 



553 



meddlesome disposition. And "he that passeth by 
and meddleth with strife not belonging to him, is like 
one that taketh a dog by the ears." Prov. xxvi. 17. 
To others he gives trouble, while he has a large share 
himself. Very few men openly declare themselves 
candidates for contempt, but tale-bearers* gain it with- 
out direct seeking. 

If such persons met with no encouragement, they 
would cease their evil work. If none will dance, they 
will not pipe. Pity it is that they are not made 
ashamed of their evil course. He who listens to them 
is partaker of their sins. A good man " taketh not 
up a reproach against his neighbour." Prov. xv. 3. 
Tale-hearing is twin sister to tale-bearing. " Where 
the carcass is, there the eagles will be gathered to- 
gether." And where evil report is rifest, there will 
gather foul birds, which prey upon ruined character. 
How court-houses are crowded by this sort of persons, 
when matters of a scandalous nature are to be inves- 
tigated! Their dolorous notes of regret do not even 
conceal their hypocrisy. Like sepulchres, their memo- 
ries are full of dead men's bones and all corruption. 
If none would hear evil reports, none would be made. 
" The north-wind driveth away rain ; so doth an angry 
countenance a backbiting tongue." Prov. xxv. 23. 
Compare Jer. xx. 10 ; Neh. vi. 6. "It is not the lie 
that passeth through the mind, but the lie that stick- 
eth in and settleth in the mind, that doth the hurt." 
Cowper says : 

" Whoever keeps an open ear 
For tattlers, will be sure to hear 

The trumpet of contention ; 
Aspersion is the babbler's trade, 
To listen is to lend him aid, 

And rush into dissension." 



554 



THE NINTH COMMANDMENT. 



Bishop Hall says, " As 'there would be no thieves, 
if there were no receivers,' so there would not be so 
many open mouths to detract and slander if there were 
not so many open ears to entertain them. If I cannot 
stop other men's mouths from speaking ill, I will 
either open -my mouth to reprove it, or else I will stop 
my ears from hearing it ; and let him see in my face 
that he hath no room in my heart." 

" A good name is better than precious ointment." 
Eccles. vii. 1. Yea, " a good name is rather to be 
chosen than great riches." Prov. xxii. 1. Character 
is all the estate many have. To any man it is of 
great value. Hopkins : " Indeed a good name is so 
excellent a blessing that there is but one thing to be 
preferred before it, and that is a good conscience." 
Everywhere and always human happiness much de- 
pends upon it. Compared with it, other possessions 
are paltry : 

"Who steals my purse steals trash, 'tis something, nothing; 
'Twas mine, 'tis his, and has been slave to thousands ; 
But he that filches from me my good name, 
Robs me of that which not enriches him, 
But makes me poor indeed." 

Who is the gainer by tattling or slander? He 
who utters either is greatly polluted. He who listens 
to either is an "eater of calumnies," as the Syriac 
calls Satan. He of whom either is uttered, does not 
thereby lose a good conscience, but he sometimes 
loses his temper, which is the source of much of his 
enjoyment ; and sometimes he loses his good name, 
which is the best legacy he can leave his children. 
Both tattling and slander are commonly malignant, 
and always wanton. Nor is any one safe from these 



THE NINTH COMMANDMENT. 



555 



robbers. No lock and key, no armed sentinel, no life 
of usefulness, no solid worth can secure a good name 
from their attacks. 

" No might, nor greatness in mortality, 
Can censure /scape ; back-wounding calumny 
The whitest virtue strikes. "What king so strong 
Can tie the gall up in the slanderous tongue 1" 

Well does the word of God describe such: "Their 
throat is an open sepulchre ; with their tongues they 
have used deceit ; the poison of asps is under their 
lips." Rom. iii. 13. " There is that speaketh like 
the piercings of a sword." Prov. xii. 18. One asked 
a Spartan if his sword was sharp. He replied, 
" Sharper than calumny." The good of all ages have 
testified against these sins. One said, " The most 
abandoned and sordid minds have the least abhorrence 
of calumny. He who is but moderately wicked, dares 
not venture upon it. He who has the least particle 
of ingenuousness in his nature disdains it." Another 
said, " The malice of ill tongues cast upon a good man 
is only like a mouthful of smoke blown upon a 
diamond, which, though it clouds its beauty for the 
present, yet it is easily rubbed off, and the gem re- 
stored with little trouble to its owner." Were this 
the proper place, it might be well to consider at length 
how we should behave under such wrongs. One said, 
" The sparks of calumny will be presently extinct of 
themselves unless you blow them." In some cases 
this is true, but in all cases imitate Christ, and com- 
mit yourself to Him that judgeth righteously. 

Detraction is a species of slander. It consists in 
taking away something from the character of another. 
It denies not all his merits, but it puts in many abate- 



556 



THE NINTH COMMANDMENT. 



ments, exceptions, and insinuations. It is a common 
sin with rivals, sectaries, and partisans. Sallust ex- 
plains to us the motives of such ; " By casting down 
others, they hope to rise to honour." But to prove 
that one man is base will not prove another noble or 
virtuous. 

One of the meanest ways of sinning with the tongue 
is so to attack character that no fair defence can be 
made. Some will give no names, others will avoid all 
particulars, but yet both will so describe things as 
to give cruel thrusts. If called to an account, they 
meanly enough put you to the proof of their having 
said aught against you, and show the cunning of a fox 
in eluding a pursuit which is becoming hot. 

The great difficulty in all evil speaking is that so 
soon as a man utters it, his pride and self-love pledge 
him to make it good. Unless compelled, he seldom 
retracts. To injure a man is the surest way to hate 
him, and to wish to have ground of justification in 
such a case is quite natural. Passion, once enlisted, 
is blind and obstinate. Most of the hard and 
cruel things said, would, but for this cause, be 
taken back. Detraction is seldom followed by retrac- 
tion. 

A fondness for the strange and marvellous is one of 
the sins of every age, and shows itself in speech. To 
forge a chain out of a gossamer film, to make a moun- 
tain out of a mole-hill, and to abound in the wonderful 
may make fools gape, but will cause wise men to fear. 
When such men speak soberly, they fail of gaining 
credit. Some of the most painful scenes witnessed 
in social intercourse arise from the love of big stories. 
Asseverations, and even oaths, do not secure belief 



THE NINTH COMMANDMENT. 



557 



in them. He who duly fears God, will take care 
neither to invent, retail, nor even listen to them. It 
is to be regretted that superlatives are so commonly 
in use. How many speak of others as the meanest, 
the cleverest, the wisest, or the kindest people they 
ever knew! How often do we hear such expressions 
as these : " This is the hottest, or the coldest, or the 
darkest day I ever saw!" Perhaps these very peo- 
ple have said the same things oftentimes, and do not 
really mean what they say. They may not so much 
wish to deceive as to be impressive. True, all hyper- 
bole is not unlawful. John xxi. 25. But this habitual 
use of it is out of place, weakens respect for our 
sobriety of mind, if not for our love of truth, and 
utterly fails of any good object. Exaggeration is said 
to run in some families. In giving solemn testimony 
there is often no little lying of this kind. President 
Edwards, the elder, wisely " resolved, in narrations, 
never to speak any thing but the pure and simple 
verity." 

The spirit which leads men to the marvellous, often 
guides them to boasting. As formerly, so now, 
"most men will proclaim every one his own good- 
ness." Prov. xx. 6. So they boast of their exploits, 
property, influence, talents, charity, family, friends, 
and correspondents. Those "whose glory is in their 
shame," go further, and proudly tell of things which 
should crimson their cheeks. They seem to have one 
pleasure in committing a sin, and two in speaking of 
it. Men sometimes unwittingly let others know that 
they are knaves. "It is naught, it is naught, saith 
the buyer; but when he is gone his way, then he 
boasteth!" Prov. xx. 14. Perhaps there are commonly 
47 * 



558 



THE NINTH COMMANDMENT. 



too many words used in buying and selling. Many 
assert their large possession of qualities, of which 
they have little or none. And " whoso boasteth him- 
self of a false gift, is like clouds and wind without 
rain." Prov. xxv. 14. Such a man is sometimes said 
to be windy, and he is a mere puff. U A11 such boast- 
ing is evil." James iv. 16. " Boasters " do not 
bear a high character for truth in other respects, 
and Paul enrols them among backbiters, haters 
of God, inventors of evil things, blasphemers, and 
such like vicious characters. Rom. i. 30, and 2 Tim. 
iii. 2. 

It is very important that we should avoid the ex- 
tremes of excessive confidence or doubtfulness in our 
statements. Some men conjecture, think, suppose, 
presume, guess, are not sure but that things are or 
were thus and so, when they know it. On the other 
hand some know, aver, declare most positively, are 
ready to make oath about trifles and things in their 
nature doubtful. The first class is certain of nothing; 
the latter, of every thing. The one by seeming 
doubtful of plain facts well known to them, would 
hang an innocent man ; the other would bring about 
the same result by speaking so confidently of things 
doubtful as to destroy their own credibility in other 
things. The rule is, obtain correct views, if you 
can, and express them modestly, but clearly; but 
if there is room for rational doubt be not positive. 
If you know a thing, say so ; if you know it not, 
say so. 

There is much sin committed respecting promises. 
Some promises are wicked, and should be neither 
made nor kept. If made, they are to be repented of. 



THE NINTH COMMANDMENT. 



559 



Some are rash, yet not wicked; such are to be kept. 
Rashness is always a folly and commonly a sin, and 
so should be mourned over. But "he that sweareth 
to his own hurt and changeth not," is the man that 
shall never be moved. Ps. xv. 4, 5. But even in 
lawful and prudent promises, what slackness of fulfil- 
ment ! How few men keep all their engagements ! 
How little punctuality and promptness do we see ! 
If a man would be confided in by none, let him pro- 
mise much, and perform little. There is no surer 
mark of general corruption than want of fidelity. 
"When the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on 
the earth?" 

For remarks on blasphemy, see above on the third 
commandment, pp. 262-266. 

For remarks on the sin of perjury, see exposition 
of the third commandment, pp. 266-269. 

On profane swearing, see above, pp. 269-282. 

Following the usual course of theologians, Boston 
says, "Lies are of four sorts: 

"1. Jesting lies, that is, when a person speaks 
that which is contrary to the known truth, in a jesting 
or ludicrous way; and embellishes his discourse with 
his own fictions, designing thereby to impose on 
others. See Hos. vii. 8. 

"2. Officious lies, that is, when one speaks that 
which is contrary to the truth, and the dictates of his 
conscience, to do good to himself or others thereby. 
Job xiii. 7; Rom. iii. 8. 

"3. Pernicious lies, that is, when a person raises 
_and spreads a false report, with a design to do mis- 
chief to another. 

"4. Rash lies, that is, when a person utters that 



560 



THE NINTH COMMANDMENT. 



which is false through surprise, inadvertency, and 
customary looseness." 2 Sam. xiii. 30. 

Perhaps of all the sins that men commit, none is 
more difficult to be cured than lying. Hateful as it 
is, it adheres to men with great tenacity. 

Montaigne: "After a tongue has once got the 
knack of lying, 'tis not to be imagined how impossi- 
ble it is almost to reclaim it." This is felt in churches 
formed in heathen countries at this day. The same 
difficulty was experienced by Paul and Titus, at 
least in reference to the churches in Crete. Paul 
says, "One of themselves, even a prophet of their 
own, said, The Cretians are alway liars, evil beasts, 
slow bellies. This witness is true : wherefore rebuke 
them sharply," &c, &c. Titus i. 12, 13. 

It is not necessary to be able to classify every kind 
of lying. The essence of the sin consists in an inten- 
tion to deceive where we are under obligation to 
speak. If any thing is spoken, it should be the 
truth. Of every species of this sin the old saying is 
true: "A liar should have a good memory." Mon- 
taigne expresses it thus: "He who has not a good 
memory should never take upon him the trade of 
lying." Tillotson's illustration of this idea has been 
often quoted: "Truth and reality have all the ad- 
vantages of appearance and many more. If the 
show of any thing be good for any thing, I am sure 
sincerity is better : for why does any man dissemble, 
or seem to be that which he is not, but because he 
thinks it good to have such a quality as he pretends 
to? for to counterfeit and dissemble is to put on the 
appearance of some real excellency. Now, the best 
way in the world for a man to seem to be any thing, 



THE NINTH COMMANDMENT. 



561 



is really to be what he would seem to be. Besides, 
that it is many times as troublesome to make good 
the pretence of a good quality, as to have it ; and if a 
mau have it not, it is ten to one but he is discovered 
to want it, and then all his pains and labour to seem 
to have it are lost. There is something unnatural in 
painting, which a skilful eye will easily discern from 
native beauty and complexion. 

"It is hard to personate and act a part long; for 
where truth is not at the bottom, nature will always 
be endeavouring to return, and will press out and be- 
tray herself one time or other. Therefore, if any 
man think it convenient to seem good, let him be so 
indeed, and then his goodness will appear to every 
body's satisfaction; so that, upon all accounts, sin- 
cerity is true wisdom. Particularly as to the affairs 
of this world, integrity hath many advantages over 
all the fine and artificial ways of dissimulation and 
deceit; it is much the plainer and easier, much the 
safer and more secure way of dealing in the world; 
it has less of trouble and difficulty, of entanglement 
and perplexity, of danger and hazard in it; it is the 
shortest and nearest way to our end, carrying us 
thither in a straight line, and will hold out and last 
longest. The arts of deceit and cunning do con- 
tinually grow weaker, and less effectual and service- 
able to them that use them; whereas integrity gains 
strength by use ; and the more and longer any man 
practiseth it, the greater service it does him, by 
confirming his reputation, and encouraging those 
with whom he hath to do to repose the greatest trust 
and confidence in him, which is an unspeakable ad- 
vantage in the business and affairs of life. Truth is 



562 



THE NINTH COMMANDMENT. 



always consistent with itself, and needs nothing to 
help it out ; it is always near at hand, and sits upon 
our lips, and is ready to drop out before /we are 
aware; whereas a lie is troublesome, and sets a man's 
invention upon the rack, and one trick needs a great , 
many more to make it good." 

The reason why lying is so hard to be cured is that 
it is seated in sin itself. Men go astray from the 
womb, speaking lies. How few there are, even in 
boyhood, who possess the entire confidence of their 
play-mates in matters of veracity. Once in a while, 
such a case is observed and always attracts attention. 

Thomas was never known to tell a lie. He 

would sometimes do wrong, but when asked about it, 
his chin would curl up, and his lip quiver, and out 
would come the truth. When he was eight or ten 
years old, bad boys, who wished to do any mischief, 
would not ask him to go with them ; often they would 
not let him go with them ; for they said, 64 he will be 
sure to tell all about it, if he is asked." In this way 
he kept out of much sin and sorrow too. 

Yet when the boys were playing ball and a dispute 
arose, it was pleasing to see how they would all agree 
to leave it to Thomas. Everybody knew that he 
would tell the truth. If any boy was not willing to 
take the word of Thomas, it was thought that he must 
wish to cheat. 

When Thomas was quite a young man, he was called 
into court to give his evidence under oath, and he told 
a modest plain story. One of the lawyers told the 
jury that the young man behaved very well, but he 
was so young that they ought not to give much weight 
to what he said. But the judge told the jury that 



THE NINTH COMMANDMENT. 



563 



there was no better witness, old or young, than 
Thomas. So he was honoured there before all the 
people. 

Thomas lived to be an old man, and was much re- 
spected. He was always a man of truth. When he 
died there were many sad faces. 

Perhaps very few have known more than one or 
two persons, whose character for veracity was like 
that of Thomas . 

One thing in this sin should not be forgotten. It 
is exceedingly daring. "A liar is brave towards 
God, and a coward towards man." "A lie has no 
legs," and so cannot stand. Blessed is the man 
" that speaketh the truth in his heart," Ps. xv. 2. 
Compare Prov. xii. 19. Downright lying, without an 
object, is perhaps not very common, though some such 
cases do appear. But equivocation, prevarication, 
Gen. xx. 9-16, wresting men's words, Ps. lvi. 5, and 
Matt. xxvi. 60, 61, disparagement of others, Luke 
xviii. 11, undue praise of others, Acts xii. 22, 23, un- 
true commendation of ourselves, Luke xviii. 11, de- 
nying our own gifts, Exodus iv. 10, 14, exaggerating 
the faults of others, and making " a man an offender 
for a word," Isa. xxix. 20, 21, are kinds of false- 
hood, always having some guilt in them. In short, 
whatever is contrary to candour, fairness, and sincer- 
ity, should be avoided. It is to the great reproach 
of human nature that there should so often seem to 
be manifest pleasure in falsehood. " All liars shall 
have their part in the lake which burneth with fire 
and brimstone, which is the second death," Rev. xxi. 
8. Compare Rev. xxii. 15. 

Not a little injustice is done, not a little sin is com- 



564 



THE NINTH COMMANDMENT. 



mitted by a class of men, who denominate themselves 
critics. 

"A simple race of men who had 
One only art, which taught them still to say, 
Whate'er was done might have heen better done." 

These few words complete the account of them. 

Some time ago a minister quoted the words " we be 
all dead men." A young coxcomb walking home, 
said that he was astonished at the minister's ignorance 
of grammar, and so occupied the attention of others 
and flattered his own vanity by his silly criticism. A 
large body of this class of men may properly be de- 
nominated professional fault-finders. Stowell: "There 
is more surmising, insinuating, censuring of what is 
dishonourable, inconsistent, or iniquitous, than ex- 
pressed approbation of what is pure and just." Such 
have no patience with the principle laid downbyBun- 
yan in the Preface to " Grace Abounding." Speak- 
ing of that work he says : " He that liketh it, let him 
receive it ; and he that doth not, let him produce a 
better." A certain class of critics have no heart and 
no talent to- produce a better work ; and yet they 
delight in showing how poor is the production of 
another far their superior. 

One of the most Worthy men of his day, was the 
Rev. Job Orton. He lived in troublous times. He 
has left some valuable writings. They begin to be 
inquired after anew. This good man often disclaimed 
all participation in politics. On one occasion he says : 
" I have nothing to say about politics, but well re- 
member the saying of Synesius, 4 What hath a bishop 
to do with politics ?' " Yet this same good man for- 



THE NINTH COMMANDMENT. 



565 



got himself exceedingly — he says : " Whatever the 
principles of the Americans may be, the spirit they 
show, is malignant, rebellious and wicked." How 
sweeping this charge against two millions of Chris- 
tian freemen ! Soon after he says : " I wish the Lon- 
don ministers would leave politics to statesmen, and 
give themselves wholly to their ministry." Yet it is 
certain that all the London ministers, who espoused 
the cause of America, said far less in the pulpit on 
politics than those who differed from them. Many 
have noticed that when a minister's politics suit a man, 
he seldom finds fault with a mild, seasonable and firm 
expression of them, in private or at the ballot-box ; 
but if he is on the other side, he is all wrong, he is a 
meddler, violent, rash. 

In another place, Orton speaking of Jonathan Ed- 
wards on the Will, says : "I never read it and I sup- 
pose I never will." He adds: " I bought and read 
his tract upon Religious Affections, which I did not 
understand." This is certainly short metre and suf- 
ficiently dashing ; but soon after he says : " I scarcely 
know a worse writer, as to style and manner, than 
Davies of Virginia. His language is various ; some- 
times highly poetical, and seems to be verse run mad ; 
sometimes he is in the clouds, and common readers 
cannot understand him ; at other times he is not only 
plain, as every sermon-writer should be, but even 
low." 

One is ready to ask, how could a man of Mr. Or- 
ton's piety and good sense pronounce so sententiously 
and unfavourably upon two of the brightest lights of 
the last century ? 

It cannot be denied that under the name of criti- 
48 



566 



THE NINTH COMMANDMENT. 



cism, the very worst feelings and meanest passions of 
the heart often give vent to themselves. This is of- 
ten confessed in high life as well as low. More than 
one critic, in " attempting to commit murder has com- 
mitted suicide." A man is as accountable for his 
temper as a critic, as in any other respect. 

One of the worst misapplications of criticism is to 
preaching ; it seems to destroy nearly all prospect of 
doing good to those who indulge it. One such critic 
may infect a whole people with his hateful spirit ; 
such hearers can hardly be profited — they are self- 
constituted judges ; they are hardly hearers of the 
word — much less are they commonly doers of it ; they 
go not to the house of God in a mood to be profited. 
If such would see divine light, they must first put out 
their own candle. It is a great fault in some that 
they relish discourses entirely beyond their compre- 
hension. With many to be plain and low is the same 
thing. The loss to one of such a temper is great ; 
he loses both enjoyment and edification ; he feeds on 
wind. If he knows himself he must feel sad at his 
own leanness. Nor can he be much profited until 
there is a change in him — happy will he be, if that 
change be speedy and thorough. 

Passing judgment before hearing evidence or argu- 
ment, is a common sin. "All are not thieves that 
the dogs bark at." Many an innocent man is 
clamorously and falsely accused. To come out against 
the innocent or for the guilty is a great sin. " He 
that justifieth the wicked, and he that condemneth the 
just, even they both are abomination to the Lord." 
Prov. xvii. 15. A tumult or an uproar for or against 
a man is no proof. Nor are we innocent in justify- 



THE NINTH COMMANDMENT. 



567 



ing, when we should condemn ourselves. Luke xvi. 
15. Confessions of sin in prayer, if not true, are very 
shocking to pious ears, and must be offensive to God. 
Making merry with the miseries of others is a great 
sin of the tongue and heart. " He that is glad at 
calamities shall not be unpunished." Prov. xvii. 5. 
We should be sorry both at the sorrows and sins even 
of our worst foe. " Rejoice not when thine enemy 
falleth, and let not thine heart be glad when he 
stumbleth ; lest the Lord see it, and it displease him, 
and he turn away his wrath from him." Prov. xxiv. 
17, 18. None but men of fiendish dispositions allow 
the violation of this law. 

Railing, reviling, and scornful words are also con- 
demned in Scripture. " Render not railing for rail- 
ing." 1 Pet. iii. 9. If another reviles you, set him 
an example of patience. Paul puts "railers" among 
" fornicators, covetous, idolaters, drunkards, and ex- 
tortioners." 1 Cor. v. 11. When Jesus "was reviled, 
he reviled not again." 1 Pet. ii. 23 ; Gal. iv. 29. Of 
the early Christians Paul says, "being reviled we 
bless." In reading Heb. xi. 33-39, John Blair Smith 
once said, of all the things mentioned in this catalogue 
of trials, perhaps the hardest to be borne were these 
" cruel mockings." Hopkins : " As Nero for his bar- 
barous sport wrapped up the Christians in beasts' 
skins and then set dogs to worry them ; so these dis- 
guise their brethren in false and antic shapes, and 
then fall upon them and beat them." Our Saviour 
condemned the use of the scornful titles Raca and 
Thou fool ; surely then we are not at liberty to call 
men Liars ; "for a liar loseth all credit and reputa- 
tion amongst men." Whoever has a right sense of 



568 



THE NINTH COMMANDMENT. 



honour would prefer death rather than a life in good 
society where he was justly esteemed a liar. 1 Cor. iv. 
12. Our rulers in church and in state are to be spoken 
of ^respectfully. We read of some who "are not 
afraid to speak evil of dignities. Whereas angels, 
which are greater in power and might, bring not rail- 
ing accusation against them before the Lord." 2 Pet. 
ii. 10, 11. Even " Michael, the archangel, when con- 
tending with the devil, he disputed about the body of 
Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusa- 
tion, but said, The Lord rebuke thee." Jude 9. Let 
those who indulge in scornful language consider well 
the import of Matt. v. 22. " A soft tongue breaketh 
the bone." Prov. xxv. 15. " A soft answer turneth 
away wrath : but grievous words stir up anger." Prov. 
xv. 1. Quarrelling is one of the lowest vices, and 
"recrimination is the last resort of guilt." The late 
Dr. Ebenezer Porter entered it among his solemn 
purposes, " When I am angry I will never speak; till 
I have taken at least as much time for reflection as 
Athenodorus prescribed to Csesar." This was, 
" Always repeat the twenty-four letters of the alpha- 
bet before you give way to the impulse of anger." 

Scolding is a kind of threatening without the power, 
or at least without the intention, of punishing. It is 
finding fault in a surly manner. It is one of the 
most unamiable of domestic vices. It banishes peace, 
spoils the temper, and makes many a house the 
miniature of hell. Many "hard speeches" are uttered 
in this way. The effect on children and servants is 
so discouraging that they often become desperate, 
thinking it is of no use to try to please. Any un- 
necessary exposure and repetition of the faults of others 



THE NINTH COMMANDMENT. 



569 



is a sin. Prov. xvii. 9. It was a resolution of one of 
the greatest men of his day, " Never to say any thing 
at all against anybody, but when it is perfectly 
agreeable to the highest degree of Christian honour, 
and love to mankind, agreeable to the lowest humility, 
and sense of my own faults and failings, and agree- 
able to the golden rule ; and when I have said any 
thing against any one, to bring it to, and try it strictly 
by the test of this resolution." 

"Foolish talking and jesting are not convenient." 
Eph. v. 4. That is, they do not become Christians. 
" Every idle word that men shall speak, they shall 
give account thereof in the day of judgment." Matt, 
xii. 36. " Idle words" are words without effect, and 
are " frothy, unsavoury stuff, tending to no purpose, 
nor good at all." When Latimer, on his first exami- 
nation, heard the pen of the notary who was writing 
behind a curtain, he was careful what he said, because 
he knew it might be brought against him at his 
ttual. All our words will meet us at the tribunal of 
Christ. 

The question is often asked, What rules should 
guide us in the use of pleasantry, humour, wit, satire, 
irony, sarcasm, and ridicule ? The following seem to 
cover all cases : 

1. It is certain that all use of these things is 
not unlawful. The examples of Elijah, David, and 
Isaiah prove this. 1 Kings xviii. 27 ; Ps. cxv. 4-8 '; 
and Isa. xliv. 9-17. 

2. Yet they are dangerous talents. They are edge- 
tools, and sometimes cut terribly. " Wit is folly 
unless a wise man has the keeping of it." It is, 
therefore, better to err in making a spare rather than 

48 * 



570 



THE NINTH COMMANDMENT. 



a free use of them. To make a trade of any of them 
is contemptible. 

3. They should never be employed to effect malig- 
nant or mischievous purposes, nor to put down truth, 
nor to defeat justice, nor to uphold wickedness. They 
should never be wielded against the serious misfor- 
tunes or afflictions of men, nor against the good name 
of any, nor on sacred subjects. 

4. They should not be used unseasonably. To 
some minds they are always unpleasant. Unfitly 
employed, they sunder friendships. " He is not a 
wise man who will lose his friend for his wit ; but he 
is less a wise man who will lose his friend for another 
man's wit." Discretion is better than a hon mot; 
and friendship is more valuable than fun. 

5. In this, as in all things, " love is the fulfilling 
of the law." Whatever is not benevolent is not wise 
or right. 

6. Their chief use should be to enliven the mind, 
to promote cheerfulness, to expose absurdities, to lasn 
popular vices, to reprove self-conceit, and to show the 
enemies of Grod's word that these things are not solid 
tests of truth and righteousness. 

7. " The wisdom of man lies not in satirizing 
the vices and follies of others, but in correcting his 
own." A deep sense of our true characters will com- 
monly prevent us from too much severity against 
others, and from allowing our pleasantries to sink into 
buffoonery. 

The Scriptures also condemn undue and untimely 
conversation on worldly affairs, John iii. 31, and Isa. 
lviii. 13 ; all ill-natured, censorious remarks, though 
they be but surmises, Matt. vii. 1, 2 ; Rom. xiv. 4-13 ; 



THE NINTH COMMANDMENT. 



571 



and 1 Tim. vi. 4 : all fiery, bitter wars of words, 
Prov. xviii. 6 ; Rom. xiv. 1 ; Phil. ii. 14 ; 1 Tim. vi. 
4, 5 ; and 2 Tim. ii. 23-26. " The wrath of man 
worketh not the righteousness of God." James i. 20. 
They also forbid all murmurings and complainings 
against God, Num. xiv. 27, and 1 Cor. x. 10 ; all 
seductive, tempting speeches, Rom. xvi. 18 ; all de- 
fence and propagation of false doctrine, Matt. v. 19 ; 
xxiii. 16; Isa. ix. 14-16; Ezek. xiii. 18; Col. ii. 8, 
18, 22; 1 Tim. iv. 1-6; 2 Tim. ii. 18; iii. 6, 8, 13; 
Tit. i. 10 ; Rev. xviii. 19 ; and all scoffing at sacred 
things. 2 Pet. iii. 3. 

But there may be sinful silence as well as sinful 
speaking. A dumb devil is an evil possession. Am- 
brose says, " As we must render an account of every 
idle word, so must we likewise of our idle silence." 
Another says, " Strange is the disorder that sin has 
brought into the world ; as in the tongue, which is of- 
ten going when it should be quiet, and often quiet 
when it should speak. Our tongues are our glory ; 
but they are often found wrapt up in a dark cloud of 
silence, when they should be shining forth." 

Our tongues should be used in acknowledging, ador- 
ing, praising, thanking, blessing, extolling, justifying, 
and supplicating God. We should honour him with 
our tongues in prayer, in sacred songs, in solemn 
vows, in humble confessions of sin, in solemn oaths 
judicially administered, and in professing the true 
religion. On all these points the Bible is full and 
clear. ' 

We should also use our vocal powers in giving hon- 
our to whom it is due, Rom. xiii. 7 ; in charitable ex- 
pressions concerning others, Heb. vi. 9 ; in readily 



572 



THE NINTH COMMANDMENT. 



acknowledging their good qualities, Rom. i. 8 ; 1 Cor. 
i. 4-7, and 2 Tim. i. 5, 6 ; in hearty and timely ex- 
pressions of sorrow for the sins and infirmities of 
others, 2 Cor. xii. 21 ; 1 Cor. xiii. 7 ; in giving pro- 
per warning to the erring, Ezek. iii. 17-21 ; Col. i. 
28 ; in pleading the cause of the poor and needy, 
Prov. xxxi. 9 ; 1 Sam. xxii. 14 ; in advocating truth, 
Jer. ix. 3; in speaking truth, Eph. iv. 25; in speak- 
ing the whole truth when properly called to do it, Jer. 
xlii. 4 ; Acts xx. 20 ; and in confessing our sins and 
errors known to men, or committed against them, 
James v. 16. 

Self is a poor theme of conversation, yet indiffer- 
ence to character is no fruit of piety. If unjustly 
accused we may, like Job, David, Jeremiah, Paul and 
Christ, defend ourselves, John viii. 49 ; 2 Cor. xii. 
11-18. But no wise man says much of himself un- 
less compelled, and then with modesty and a sacred 
regard to truth. 

According to our station, it is also our duty to give 
reproof, admonition, rebuke, and advice, Prov. xvii. 
10 ; Ps. cxli. 5. True, every man is not to be re- 
proved. " He that reproveth a scorner, getteth to 
himself shame ; and he that rebuketh a wicked man, 
getteth himself a blot. Reprove not a scorner lest 
he hate thee," Prov. ix. 7, 8. Silence is often the 
best reproof, and the only wisdom. " I will keep my 
mouth with a bridle, while the wicked is before me. 
I was dumb with silence. I held my peace even from 
good," Ps. xxxix. 1, 2. 

The most essential quality in a reprover is meek- 
ness ; next to this are love and humility. Even " sin 
may be sinfully reproved." Advice is often the best 



THE NINTH COMMANDMENT. 



573 



charity ; yet " to advise much is a sign that we need 
advice." In giving advice, do not try to please, but 
to do real good. An adviser fills a very responsible 
post. " The greatest trust between man and man is 
the trust of giving counsel." Beware of the vanity 
of affecting to know things beyond your reach. Ad- 
monition and rebuke must not be untimely, unjust, se- 
vere,* or bitter. " To him that is afflicted pity should 
be shewed from his friend," Job vi. 14. " A word fitly 
spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver," 
Prov. xxv. 11. 

And can any thing be more important than that 
our speech be such as to please God ? " By thy words 
thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt 
be condemned," Matt. xii. 37. "What shall be giv- 
en unto thee ? or what shall be done unto thee, thou 
false tongue ? Sharp arrows of the mighty, with 
coals of juniper," Ps. cxx. 3, 4. "A wholesome 
tongue is a tree of life, but perverseness therein is a 
breach in the spirit," Prov. xv. 4. "Death and life 
are in the power of the tongue," Prov. xviii. 21. 
" Heaviness in the heart of man maketh it stoop ; 
but a good word maketh it glad," Prov. xii. 25. "A 
man hath joy by the answer of his mouth ; and a 
word spoken in due season, how good is it," Prov. xv. 
23. " As an ear-ring of gold, and an ornament of 
fine gold, so is a wise reprover upon an obedient ear," 
Prov. xxv. 12. One of the heathen said, " Tongues 
cut deeper than swords, because they reach even to 
the soul." A religion which leaves the tongue un- 
controlled is mere pretence. " If any man among 
you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, 
but deceiveth his own heart, this man's religion is 



574 



THE NINTH COMMANDMENT. 



vain," James i. 26. After such representations, 
where is anything to be added to convince men that 
here is a most weighty matter ? If men will not be 
moved by arguments drawn from human happiness 
and human misery on earth, from the august scenes 
of the last day, from the miseries of future punish- 
ment, and the rewards of a life of piety, 4heir case is 
beyond the reach of human skill. 

Thus we get some just views of the number and 
heinousness of our sins, and of the necessity of di- 
vine grace both to pardon and to reform us. Left to 
ourselves we are undone and helpless. " If any man 
offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, and 
able also to bridle the whole body. Behold we 
put bits in the horses' mouths, that they may 
obey us ; and we turn about their whole body. Be- 
hold also the ships, which, though they be so great, 
and are driven of fierce winds, yet are they turned 
about with a very small helm, whithersover the gov- 
ernor listeth. Even so the tongue is a little member, 
and boasteth great things. Behold how great a mat- 
ter a little fire kindleth ! And the tongue is a fire, a 
world of iniquity ; so is the tongue among our mem- 
bers, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth 
on fire the course of nature ; and it is set on fire of 
hell. For every kind of beasts, and of birds, and of 
serpents, and of things in the sea, is tamed, and hath 
been tamed of mankind ; but the tongue can no man 
tame ; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. 
Therewith bless we God, even the Father ; and there- 
with curse we men, which are made after the simili- 
tude of God. Out of the same mouth proceedeth 
blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things 



THE NINTH COMMANDMENT. 



575 



ought not so to be," James iii. 2-10. He, who thinks 
he needs not amazing mercy to blot out the sins of 
his tongue, is indeed blind ; and he, who thinks he 
shall easily cease to sin- by word, knows nothing of 
the strength of an evil nature, confirmed by evil hab- 
its. If we have nothing else to repent of, surely our 
lips may well abase us. If we have nothing else to 
confess and bewail, surely each of us has reason to 
say with Isaiah, " I am undone, for I am a man of 
unclean lips." If in nothing else we are called to 
make restitution, have we wronged no one in words ? 
If we can reform nothing else, can we not amend our 
habits of speech ? 

Yet, as Archbishop Leighton says, the conquest 
of these evils of the tongue "must be done in the 
heart; otherwise it will be but a mountebank cure, a 
false imagined conquest. The weights and wheels 
are there, and the clock strikes according to their 
motion. Even he that speaks contrary to what is 
within him, guilefully contrary to his inward con- 
victions and knowledge, yet speaks conformably to 
what is within him in temper and frame of his heart, 
which is double, a heart and a heart, as the Psalmist 
hath it. Ps. xii. 2. A guileful heart makes guileful 
tongue and lips. It is the workhouse, where is the 
forge of deceits and slanders, and other evil speak- 
ings ; and the tongue is only the outer shop where 
they are vended, and the lips the door of it; so that 
such ware as is made within, such and no other can be 
set out. From evil thoughts, evil speakings; from a 
profane heart, profane words; and from a malicious 
heart, bitter or calumnious words; and from a deceit- 
ful heart, guileful words, well varnished, but lined 



576 



THE NINTH COMMANDMENT. 



with rottenness. And so in general, from the abun- 
dance of the heart the mouth speaketh, as our Saviour 
teaches. That which the heart is full of, runs over 
by the tongue ; if the heart be full of God, the tongue 
will delight to speak of him; much of heavenly things 
within will sweetly breathe forth something of their 
smell by the mouth ; and if nothing but earth is there, 
all that man's discourse will have an earthly smell; 
and if nothing but wind, vanity, and folly, the speech 
will be airy, and vain, and purposeless. The mouth 
of the righteous speaketh wisdom ; the law of his God 
is in his heart." Ps. xxxvii. 30, 31. 

Nor is it possible for us to effect a thorough change 
without diligence, watchfulness, and prayer. An un- 
guarded mouth will pour forth folly and wickedness. 
Therefore after all David's resolutions and efforts he 
comes to God in earnest prayer, and cries, "Set a 
watch, 0 Lord, before my mouth; keep the door of my 
lips." Ps. cxli. 3. 

If you go on sinning with your lips, you either will 
repent or not. If you shall repent, you will have 
more anguish than all the vile pleasure of sin is 
worth. If you never shall truly repent, how sad 
your state for ever ! And are we not all guilty 
enough already? Are not our iniquities fearfully 
multiplied? They are more than the hairs of our 
head. We cannot answer for one of a thousand of 
our offences. Even now our only hope is in the in- 
finite mercy of God. How sweet are the words of 
Scripture to those who rightly feel their sinfulness ! 
"If any man sin, we have an advocate with the 
Father, Jesus Christ the righteous." "The blood of 
Jesus Christ, his Son, cleanseth us from all sin." 



THE NINTH COMMANDMENT. 



577 



Wonderful, wonderful are the compassions of the 
Lord. Oh that we may no longer abuse them, but by 
them be won to God, to love, to holiness in thought, 
word, and deed! 

Would it not, therefore, be right for you to make 
these solemn resolutions? 

1. I will steadily keep in view my latter end, and 
remember that soon I must stand before my Judge. 
I would not live a day or an hour in forgetfulness of 
the truth that all my thoughts, words and deeds are 
to undergo the scrutiny of Him, who is so holy as to 
hate all sin, and so great as to know all things, and 
so just as never to clear the guilty. 

2. I will endeavour often to ask myself, How 
would Jesus Christ speak were he in my circum- 
stances ? He has left me an example that I should 
follow his steps. His life is the law of God put in 
practice. If I walk in his steps I shall not err. 

3. I will rely more and more on the grace of the 
Lord Jesus Christ to preserve me from sins of the 
tongue. I have too much relied on the strength of 
my own virtue and perseverance, and so I have failed. 
"0 Lord, undertake for me." 

4. I will constantly strive to have a deep sense of 
the importance of making a right use of my tongue. 
I will endeavour to avoid levity of mind, and so 
escape levity of speech and behaviour. By God's 
grace I will be serious. 

5. I will often call myself to an account for my 
words during the day, and when I have erred, I will 
not spare myself from these severe, yet salutary 
answers, which my sins deserve. I will not justify, 
excuse or extenuate the sins of my lips. 

49 



5T8 



THE NINTH COMMANDMENT. 



6. I will labour to have my mind stored with 
valuable information and reflections, that I may not 
be tempted to deal in gossip, and scandal, and idle 
news, and that my words may be instructive to those 
with whom I mingle. 

7. I will endeavour to be more impressed with a 
sense of the amazing grace and mercy of God to me a 
sinner, in bidding me hope for his favour, notwith- 
standing all my offences. Thus I shall have alacrity 
and joy in resisting evil and seeking holiness. 

8. I will labour to have a proper view, not only of 
the meanness, mischief, and troubles of a loose 
tongue, but also of its great sinfulness in the sight 
of God. As an unbridled speech is a wickedness, 
I would avoid it, even if it brought me no temporal 
evil. 

9. Above all things, I will seek to be thoroughly 
renewed by the power of the Holy Ghost. If he will 
make his abode with me, I shall be able to resist all 
sin, and overcome all evil habits. ..To change my 
nature is beyond my power, but not beyond the 
power of the Sanctifier. My power is but another 
name for feebleness : his energy is irresistible. 

10. I will strive to practise the wise rules which 
Dr. Watts so well suggests in his version of the xxxix. 
Psalm. 

Thus I resolved before the Lord, 
. Now will I watch my tongue, 
Lest I let slip one sinful word, 
Or do my neighbour wrong. 

Whene'er constrained a while to stay 

With men of lives profane, 
I'll set a double watch that day, 

Nor let my talk be vain. 



THE NINTH COMMANDMENT. 



I'll scarce allow my lips to speak 
The pious thoughts I feel, 

Lest scoffers should occasion take 
To mock my holy zeal. 

Yet if some proper hour appear, 

I'll not be overawed, 
But let the scoffing sinner hear 

That I can speak for God. 



580 



THE TENTH COMMANDMENT. 



CHAPTER XXIV. 

THE TENTH COMMANDMENT. 

thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, 
thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, 
nor his man-servant, nor his maid-servant, nor 
his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy 
neighbour's. 

THIS precept was the key that unlocked the mys- 
tery of iniquity in the mind of Paul. He says, 
" I had not known lust, except the law said, Thou 
shalt not covet," that is, he would not have known 
that the thought of foolishness, the secret desire of 
evil was wicked, but for this precept. It served to 
show him the nature of all the commandments. Char- 
nock : " Paul thought himself a righteous person till 
he came to measure himself by the exact and spiritual 
image of the law. His head and the law were ac- 
quainted, and then' he thought himself a living per- 
son : but when his heart and the* law came to be ac- 
quainted, there he found himself dead, and his high 
opinion of himself fell to the ground." 

It is clear, therefore, that this commandment directs 
attention immediately to the state of the heart. 
White-washing the sepulchre will do no good, while it 



THE TENTH COMMANDMENT. 



581 



is full of dead men's bones. The heart must be puri- 
fied. There is no substitute for a thorough renewal 
of nature. Calvin : " Since it is the will of God that 
our whole souls should be under the influence of love, 
every desire inconsistent with charity ought to be ex- 
pelled from our minds." Stowell : " This closing 
commandment is of great importance in two distinct 
points of view — first, as exhibiting the spirit of all the 
previous commandments, and secondly, as laying the 
foundation for just and consistent views of all the 
doctrines of the gospel." 

Some have undertaken to trace the progress of 
concupiscence in the soul, showing its various stages. 
Perhaps something may be done that way ; but there 
is an inscrutable mystery in iniquity. No man can 
understand his errors. Ps. xix. 12. The growth of 
iniquity is like the diffusion of leaven. It is very 
rapid, and soon changes the whole lump. The more 
full the consent of the soul to any sin, the more 
defiled it is. This command clearly settles the point 
that the seat of the divine government in man is the 
human heart. When that is right, all is right. When 
that is wrong, all is wrong. Let us look at this pre- 
cept in regard to 

WEALTH. 

The Scriptures say that " the ransom of a man's life 
are his riches ;" that the " crown of the wise is their 
riches ;" and that " house and riches are the inherit- 
ance of fathers." Prov. xiii. 8, xiv. 24, xix. 14. So 
that God's word admits the lawfulness of possessing 
riches, and of setting a right value upon them. Al- 
though man does not live by bread alone, but by every 
40* 



582 



THE TENTH COMMANDMENT. 



word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God : yet 
by worldly goods we ordinarily maintain our natural 
life, support our families, help the poor, and aid in 
strengthening the cause of Christ. If all men were 
perfectly holy, riches would, in every case and in 
every sense, be a blessing. 

But sin perverts every thing. It takes that which 
was ordained to life, and causes it to be unto death. 
By reason of sin, riches are ordinarily tempting, 
seductive, dangerous and ruinous. Our Saviour an- 
nounced this in strong language. "It is easier for a 
camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a 
rich man to enter into the kingdom of God." Matt, 
xix. 24. A right view of the perils of wealth would, 
with the divine blessing, have a mighty efficacy in 
curing our covetousness and discontent, and in caus- 
ing us to cease improperly to love what we have, or 
sinfully to desire that which belongs to others. Why 
should we enhance the obstacles to our reaching the 
kingdom of God ? 

1. He that increaseth riches, commonly increaseth 
cares. Should these cares become engrossing, salva= 
tion is not possible. If we would be saved, religion 
must command our attention, so as nothing else does. 
If our minds are eagerly turned to gold and silver, to 
farms and merchandize, to debts and demands, to 
gains and losses, religion can take but a slight hold 
of us, and yet its first call is, " Give me thy heart." 
If we sit in the house of God with our minds reeking 
with worldly cares, the best preaching will probably 
make very slight impression on our minds. Or, if 
we should be somewhat affected, the service will 
hardly be over, till worldly thoughts and anxieties 



THE TENTH COMMANDMENT. 



583 



rush in like an armed man, and carry us captive. 
" He that received seed among the thorns, is he that 
heareth the word : and the care of this world, and the 
deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he be- 
cometh unfruitful." Matt. xiii. 22. This is a short 
but sad account of the whole matter. The hope of 
expelling cares by increasing wealth is as vain as the 
hope of banishing ravenous birds by multiplying the 
carcases on which they prey. He is not wise, u who 
imagines that the chief power of wealth is to supply 
wants. In ninety-nine cases out of a hundred, it 
creates more wants than it supplies." If even in 
public worship, we cannot " attend upon the Lord 
without distraction," how much more difficult it is to 
do so in private. And if the spirit of devotion is 
wholly wanting, our religion is vain. What a testi- 
mony was borne to the terrible power of worldly care 
by the late Mr. Stephen Girard, of Philadelphia. 
" As to myself, I live like a galley slave, constantly 
occupied, and often passing the night without sleep- 
ing. I am wrapped in a labyrinth of affairs, and 
worn out with care. I do not value fortune. The 
love of labour is my highest emotion. When I rise in 
the morning, my only effort is to labour so hard 
during the day, that when the night comes I may be 
able to sleep soundly." Is there not great danger 
that one thus pressed with care will neglect his soul ? 
Jesus Christ answers that question. 

2. But one may so arrange and invest his property 
that necessary attentions to it will not demand much 
of his time. Yet it is not found that this state of 
things generally exempts men from care. Their 
thoughts are as busy as ever. . If their investments 



584 



THE TENTH COMMANDMENT. 



are good, they wish they were better ; or if they 
should be freed from care, then new dangers arise. 
The heart is led to idolize a state of secure and inde- 
pendent wealth ; or idleness, luxury and practical 
atheism imperil salvation. When one says : Soul, 
thou hast much goods laid up for many years ; take 
thine ease, eat, drink and be merry," Luke xii. 19, 
destruction is already at the door. No state of mind 
is more opposite to the spirit of the gospel than that 
of slothfulness, high living, banqueting, and carnal 
mirth. Ezek. xvi. 49. "Wantonness and luxury, sloth 
and corruption usually go together. The great nour- 
isher of these is wealth. Neale : " The million covet 
wealth, but how few dream of its perils ! Few are 
aware of the extent to which it ministers to the baser 
passions of our nature : of the selfishness it engenders ; 
the arrogance, which it feeds ; the self-security which 
it inspires ; the damage which it does to all the nobler 
feelings and holier aspirations of the heart." 

3. Riches have also a mighty tendency to fill the 
heart with pride. Than this, nothing is more hostile 
to the soul's best interests. Dominant pride is the 
forerunner of destruction. So says the Psalmist : 
" Their inward thought is, that their houses shall con- 
tinue for ever, and their dwelling-places to all genera- 
tions ; they call their lands after their own names," 
Ps. xlix. 11. When men set their nest on high and 
pride revels in the soul, ruin comes on apace. Above 
pride, nothing more effectively opposes the reception 
of the gospel. Often did the Saviour say, " Whoso- 
ever exalteth himself shall be abased, - and he that 
humbleth himself shall be exalted." The gospel 
message is : " Let the rich man rejoice in that he is 



THE TENTH COMMANDMENT. 



585 



made low," James i. 10. No man can go on a more 
unwelcome errand than to disrobe his neighbour of 
the distinction and pleasing unction of a full coffer, 
and to invite him to sit down in sackcloth and ashes 
with the beggar and the true penitent. In the heart, 
the levelling of Christianity spares nothing. It 
abases whatsoever exalts itself against God. Jeho- 
vah will stain the pride of all glory. They that boast 
themselves in their riches, and trust in the abundance 
of their possessions, shall fall ; the mouth of the Lord 
hath spoken it, Ps. xlix. 6 ; lii. 7 ; Prov. xi. 28. 
Nothing is more opposed to God than pride. Noth- 
ing more hinders salvation. How needful the apos- 
tolic exhortation : " Charge them that are rich in this 
world, that they be not high-minded, nor trust in un- 
certain riches, but in the living God," 1 Tim. vi. 17. 
Cecil : " We hear much of a decent pride, a becoming 
pride, a noble pride, a laudable pride. Can that be 
decent of which we ought to be ashamed ? Can that 
be becoming, of which God has set forth the deform- 
ity ? Can that be noble which God resists and has 
determined to abase ? Can that be laudable which 
God calls abominable ?" " Pride goeth before destruc- 
tion, and a haughty spirit before a fall." 

4. It is very difficult to possess wealth without lov- 
ing it and desiring more of it. And " if any man 
love the world, the love of the Father is not in him," 
1 John ii. 15. Compare Luke xiv. 26. " Covetous- 
ness is idolatry." It disowns Jehovah. It sets up 
gold to be worshipped. It brings man, like the ser- 
pent, to lick the dust. It sadly perverts God's mer- 
cies as well as all our own thoughts. It makes men 
" believe in no God but mammon, no devil but the 



586 THE TENTH COMMANDMENT. 

absence of gold, no damnation but being poor, and 
no hell but an empty purse."* How few rich men 
can say with Calvin in his poverty : " I confess, in- 
deed, that I am not poor ; for I desire nothing more 
than what I have." How few are ready to say with 
a moralist, " To be truly rich is not to have much, 
but to desire little." He who loves riches can never 
say either of these things. Each acquisition naturally 
adds fuel to the flame. Fire can never be extinguished 
by pouring oil upon it. The more a worldling pos- 
sesses, the more he desires. Although for fear of 
losing what he has, he may cease to make ventures, 
yet his covetousness may take the sullen form of 
grasping like death what he possesses. He seeks no 
more because he dreads failure. To be greedy of 
gain is still in his heart ; but fear deters him from at- 
tempts to acquire more. He sits down wickedly to 
dote on what he has. If he thought he could suc- 
ceed in increasing his wealth, he would still sell the 
righteous for silver and the poor for a pair of shoes ; 
for he still pants after the dust of the earth on the 
head of the poor, and turns aside the way of the 
meek, and drinks the wine of the condemned, Amos 
ii. 6-8. Oh that men would believe their final Judge, 
when he says, " Ye cannot serve God and mammon," 
Matt. vi. 24. Oh that they would believe his servant 
Paul, when he says : " They that will be rich fall into 
temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and - 
hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and per- 
dition. For the love of money is the root of all evil ; 
which while some coveted after they have erred from 
the faith and pierced themselves through with many 
sorrows," 1 Tim. vi. 9, 10. 

* South. 



THE TENTH COMMANDMENT. 



58T 



5. All that has been said is on the supposition that 
wealth has been acquired in a righteous and honora- 
ble way. But is it not often otherwise ? How many 
estates are built up by fraud, by extortion, by usury, 
by unjust gain, by monopoly, by unconscionable prices, 
by wild and dangerous speculations, by imposing on 
the ignorant, by the triumph of one race of sharpers 
over another, by false weights and measures, by lying, 
by unfaithfulness in contracts, by oppression, by gam- 
ing, by wicked law-suits, by inveigling the unwary 
into suretyships, by stinginess and meanness towards 
ourselves and our dependents, and in general by un- 
due eagerness for wealth. The curse of God is this 
day resting on many an estate because it was acquired 
in some sinful manner. " An inheritance maybe got 
hastily at the beginning ; but the end thereof shall 
not be blessed," Prov. xx. 21. "He that hasteth to 
be rich hath an evil eye, and considereth not that 
poverty shall come upon him," Prov. xxviii. 22. Bet- 
ter be poor by birth, by misfortune, by the villany of 
others, than be rich by any species of iniquity. The 
more wealth unjustly held, the more is the soul in 
peril. 

6. To all men, the call to self-denial and mortifica- 
tion of the flesh is unwelcome ; but to the rich it is pecu- 
liarly distasteful. To them self-denial is as necessary 
as to the poor. Yet commonly it is far more difficult. 
It is true of every class that if they live after the 
flesh, they shall die. The poor man is seldom tempt- 
ed to gluttony ; yet this sin is very prevalent among 
the rich, and if allowed to reign, it will be as fatal 
as theft or murder, Phil. iii. 19. How many too, 
waste life in idle and fashionable ceremonies, in pay- 



588 



THE TENTH COMMANDMENT. 



ing calls on those whose absence is refreshing, in see- 
ing sights, in feasting the ears with instruments of 
music, and in cultivating the arts of effeminacy. It 
is a great mercy that when for his sins Jehovah drove 
man from Paradise, he did not sentence him to a life 
of such senseless occupations as some members of al- 
most every rich family voluntarily subject themselves 
to, — thus running a round of vanity, refusing the 
laws of self-mortification, and jeoparding the interests 
of the immortal soul. 

7. So generally do pious men regard the case of 
the rich as discouraging, that commonly but few and 
faint efforts are directly made for their salvation. 
The poor and the middle classes, unless very vicious, 
usually receive kindly a visit from a minister of the 
gospel, or from a Christian friend, even if he shall 
faithfully speak to them of their soul's affairs. But 
the rich often discourage all such calls to life and 
mercy. So that there is danger that they will lose 
their souls by the neglect of their plain and humble 
neighbours, who get the impression that the rich de- 
spise close, pungent, personal appeals to themselves. 
"We are forbidden to cast pearls before swine. " He 
that reproveth a scorner getteth to himself shame." 
Perhaps very few men can bear the elevation acquired 
by wealth, without adopting the belief that their 
talents, wisdom and intellect are equal to their for- 
tune. This is not true. Yery feeble-minded men 
often grow rich. Yet such self-conceit excludes the 
spirit of docility. Such scorn to learn from a man 
who never made a dollar by sagacious foresight in 
temporal affairs. They expect to be courted. Like 
Naaman, they look for some great thing to be done 



THE TENTH COMMANDMENT. 



589 



for them. Such cases are not rare, though gain is no 
more a sign of wisdom than it is of godliness. 

8. Sometimes wealth is accompanied by long con- 
tinued exemption from sad reverses. Thus practical 
atheism is engendered. " Because they have no 
changes, therefore they fear not God." Ps. lv. 19. 
" They cry to-morrow shall be as this day and more 
abundant," and so they plunge on in sin. 

9. On the other hand, the fear of change for the 
worse often agitates some rich men, and when sad 
reverses overtake them, they become sullen and des- 
perate, and behave badly. In some cases their reason 
is dethroned, or their tempers soured, or they resort 
to the bottle, or seek refuge in suicide. How often 
do riches take wings and fly away as an eagle toward 
heaven. The torment and restlessness of dreaded 
change wear many a life away. Oftener do we see 
great reverses leading to misanthropy or melancholy. 
Speak to such of their souls and of eternity, and you 
will find them intensely occupied with the folly or 
wickedness, which robbed them of their earthly posses- 
sions, or crippled them for life. Very seldom do they 
cease to long after that which they once enjoyed, but 
which is now gone for ever. 

10. Another difficulty in the way of the salvation 
of the rich is the flattery which they receive from the 
foolish or the designing around them. "Men will 
praise thee when thou doest well to thyself." Ps. 
xlix. 18. Who has not seen unprincipled men rise 
to wealth, and yet ere long one and another would 
say, Really we never knew till of late how great their 
merits were ? Hosts of mean sycophants and of vain 
fools gather around them and flatter them with their 

50 



590 THE TENTH COMMANDMENT. 




lips. Where rich men are entitled to a good name 
for integrity, still another class of flatterers appear, 
and the peril is increased. Where men have no gra- 
cious principles, such adulation is very seductive. By 
degrees the flattered rise to giddy heights of self-es- 
teem. Many are even flattered out of their souls. 

11. Almost all rich men are induced at times to 
give something to the poor, or to works of benevo- 
lence. Or, they make a feast, and invite to it those 
whose presence will honour them, or whose means 
will enable them to return the compliment. All this 
they may be able to do without self-denial, and for 
the sake of a good name with their neighbours, or for 
even baser motives. But there is danger lest those 
who do these things may infer that they are in favour 
with God. They forget that their motives are not 
holy, and that at the last day Jesus will say, What 
have ye done unto me ? 

12. The rich seem to be so happy in their posses- 
sions, that it is often impossible to make them feel 
their need of the solace of religion, the comfort of 
love, and the supports of the Holy Spirit. Were they 
sure that death, disease or poverty would never dis- 
turb them, they would rather be let alone, than take 
any pains about salvation. Yet until one feels his 
need of religion to the completion of his happiness, 
he will not seek the favour of God, with any consider- 
able zeal or earnestness. 

13. Perhaps even more than the poor, the rich feel 
that true religion would put a strong and unwelcome 
restraint on their passions and appetites. All the 
sins that kennel in the bosom of wealth must die, no 
less than the hungry pack found in the haunts of 



THE TENTH COMMANDMENT. 



591 



poverty. The Sabbath mustjbe sanctified, God's law 
must be kept, the code of Christian morals must be 
obeyed, the Christian graces must be cultivated. All 
this looks unlovely to any natural man. To the rich 
sinner it is peculiarly so. To lead a Christian life is 
to give up one's idols. Oh how hard it is for the rich 
man to yield so much, to renounce self-will and self- 
righteousness ; and to sit down like a little child at 
the feet of Jesus, and practically learn the lessons of 
salvation. 

14. The very fact that men have great possessions 
here creates a presumption that they have nothing 
better hereafter. Jesus said : " Woe unto you that 
are rich ! for ye have received your consolation. 
Woe unto you that are full ! for ye shall hunger. 
Woe unto you that laugh now ! for ye shall mourn and 
weep." Luke vi. 24, 25. In like terms did Abraham 
address the rich man in hell : " Son, remember that 
thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things and 
likewise Lazarus evil things : but now he is comforted 
and thou art tormented." Luke xvi. 25. David also 
speaks of " men of the world, which have their por- 
tion in this life." Ps. xvii. 14. So that a man may 
receive all his good things here. The last mercy ever 
extended to him is in the hour of his death. It is 
amazing that men who have great earthly prosperity 
are not alarmed lest they should wake up in eternity 
without one blessing in reserve for that endless state. 

15. These fears may well be strong if our pros- 
perity is accompanied by a disposition to hoard wealth. 
"Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your 
miseries that shall come upon you. Your riches are 
corrupted, and your garments are moth-eaten. Your 



592 THE TENTH COMMANDMENT. 




gold and silver is cankered, and the rust of them shall 
be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as 
it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for 
the last days." James v. 1-3. This is indeed an 
awful account of things. And every act of oppres- 
sion, of pride, of hard-heartedness, of covetousness, of 
ostentation, of insolence, or of selfishness does but 
give signs that when the eyes shall close on time, the 
last blessing will have been drained from the cup held 
to our lips by a merciful God. 

"With Solomon some believe there is a time to 
gather, but alas ! they do not hold with him that 
there is a time to scatter. If men have so little 
fidelity to their engagements as was exhibited by 
Laban towards Jacob in changing his wages ten times, 
Gen. xxxi. 41, they cannot expect the divine blessing. 

"Verily I say unto you, that a rich man shall hardly 
enter into the kingdom of heaven." Matt. xix. 23. 

While all that has been said is true, let us not 
forget that it is possible for a rich man to be saved. 
The Bible does not say, Not any rich are called; but, 
Not many rich are called. Abraham, Job, Solomon, 
Joseph of Arimathea were all rich men saved by 
grace. Such cases are amazing. They show how 
God can take the camel through the eye of a needle. 
And where the piety of the rich is unquestionable, 
their exhibition of the Christian character is often 
very attractive. The faith, and love, and meekness, 
and charity of a rich believer gladden and surprise 
us. When their " horn of plenty overflows, and its 
droppings fall upon their fellow-men; fall like the 
droppings of honey in the wilderness, to cheer the 
faint and weary pilgrim;" we are ready to wish the 



THE TENTH COMMANDMENT. 



593 



world was full of such men. When we see a rich 
man exercising the humility of a cottager, the self- 
denial of a peasant, the love and faith of a martyr, 
and the bountifulness of a prince, we know that he 
must have higher aims and purer motives than those 
who are not born from above. 

But if the obstacles to a rich man's salvation are 
so many and so great, his earnestness and carefulness 
must correspond to the opposition he meets. If all 
men must watch, and pray, and labour, and fight, and 
run, and faint not; how much more must he, whose 
cares, and temptations, and enemies are so terrible. 
And if all men find it hard to keep their hearts right, 
how much more he, whose personal and social position 
is a perpetual snare to his soul. 

And let not the rich be offended when God's min- 
isters, according to his word, " charge them . . . that 
they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready 
to distribute, willing to communicate; laying up in 
store for themselves a good foundation for the time 
to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life." 
1 Tim. vi. 17-19. How much good might be done ; 
how many poor relieved; how many useful institu- 
tions aided ; how many churches built up ; how many 
Bibles and good books scattered; how many ignorant 
children educated; and how many widows made to 
sing for joy, if the wealth that is in the world were 
freely and judiciously used ! What a light would 
then shine upon the path of many, who now almost 
"choose strangling rather than life!" 

"We live in deeds, not years ; in thoughts, not breaths ; 
In feelings, not in figures on a dial. 
We should count time by heart-throbs. He most lives 
Who thinks most, feels the noblest, acts the best." 
50 * 



594 



THE TENTH COMMANDMENT. 



"If riches increase, set not your heart upon them." 
Ps. lxii. 10. Remember "that riches profit not in 
the day of wrath," Prov. xi. 4. They never make it 
easier to die. Many things are to be preferred to 
wealth. A good conscience, an unsullied honour, the 
friendship of the virtuous around us are incom- 
parably better. Prov. xxii. 1. " Riches are not for 
ever." Prov. xxvii. 24. Your wealth must soon 
leave you, or you must soon leave it. " You brought 
nothing into this world, and it is certain you can 
carry nothing out." 1 Tim. vi. 7. "He, that will 
not permit his wealth to do good to others while he is 
living, prevents it from doing any good to himself 
when he is dead." 

If you were once rich and are become poor, be not 
cast down with overmuch sorrow. Sanctified reverses 
are better than unsanctified prosperity. Leighton : 
" Certainly it is true in matter of estate, as of our 
garments, not that which is largest, but that which 
fits us best, is best for us." Remember Job in the 
midst of his poverty. Rather remember Christ, who 
"though he was rich, yet for our sakes became poor, 
that we through his poverty might be made rich." 
And if you never were rich in earthly things, neither 
was your Saviour. "Having food and raiment, let us 
be therewith content." 1 Tim. vi. 8. Carefully guard 
against all wilfulness in your desires. Ps. lxxxvii. 
29-31; 1 Tim. vi. 9. Let us cheerfully take up our 
cross and follow Christ. Matt. xvi. 24. Let us 
sweetly submit to the will of God in all things. 
1 Sam. iii. 18; Phil. iv. 11, 12. Let us learn to 
bear the yoke whenever God shall lay it upon us. 
Lam. iii. 27-29. Let us dismiss all tormenting 



J 



THE TENTH COMMANDMENT. 595 

solicitude, putting our trust in the unerring wisdom 
and gracious providence of God. Hab. iii. 17, 18; 
Phil. iv. 6. Let us by experience prove how God's 
grace can abound towards us in the greatest straits, 
and let us glory in our infirmities. 2 Cor. xii. 9. 
Let us never question the right of God to do what he 
will with his own; much less set up our wisdom 
against his. Job xxxiv. 33; Matt. xx. 15. Let us 
remember that our sins deserve far worse than we 
have ever received. Neh. ix. 16, 17; Micah vii. 9. Nor 
will our sufferings be long. They will last but for a 
little moment and be gone for ever. 2 Cor. iv. 17. 
Let us only believe and they will do us good. Rom. 
viii. 28. 

Those parents are not wise, who live, and risk 
their own souls to heap up riches for their children. 
A good name is the best inheritance we can leave to 
posterity. When to that we add a good example, a 
good education, good counsel, and good principles, 
there is but little more that is valuable in an in- 
heritance. At all events, it is God's blessing that 
maketh our children rich and addeth no sorrow. Let 
us commit them to him in hearty prayer, and be not 
over-anxious respecting their temporal wants. "The 
Lord will provide." "I have been young, and now 
am old, yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, 
nor his seed begging bread." 

And let not the poor envy the rich. When all is 
told, the latter have not many advantages. In eating 
and sleeping, they are frequently worse off than the 
poor. "The sleep of a labouring man is sweet, 
whether he eat little or much; but the abundance of 
the rich will not suffer him to sleep." Eccles. v. 12. 



596 



THE TENTH COMMANDMENT. 



The rich can live no longer, can die no more easily, 
can fill no larger space in the grave, than the poor. 
What profit then has he of all his wealth ? He works 
hard for years to amass a fortune. He spends the 
residue of his life in watching that fortune for his 
victuals and clothes. "What good is there to the 
owners of riches saving the beholding of them with 
their eyes." Eccles. v. 11. 

Let all men seek the true riches. " Sell that ye 
have, and give alms: provide for yourselves bags 
which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that 
faileth not, where no thief approacheth, neither moth 
corrupteth. For where your treasure is, there will 
your heart be also." Luke xii. 33, 34. If God has 
denied you great things here, seek the more diligently 
for glory, honour, immortality, and eternal life. 
Poverty is no virtue. Your poverty will not save 
you; but it ought to remind you of your greater 
wants, and to make you the more earnest in seeking 
the unsearchable riches of Christ. 

But let us not forget that we are never out of danger 
till Ave reach our heavenly home. The way to heaven 
is like the way that Jonathan and his armour-bearer 
ascended. There is a sharp rock on one side, and 
there is a sharp rock on the other side. Leighton : 
" We pervert all : when we look below us, it raises 
our pride ; and when above us, it casts us into dis- 
content. Might we not as well, contrariwise, draw 
humility out of the one, and contentment out of the 
other ?" " Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strang- 
ers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war 
against the soul." 1 Pet. ii. 11. 

Good writers have stated that this commandment 



THE TENTH COMMANDMENT. 



597 



requires full contentment with our condition, and that 
it forbids ambition, envy, the inordinate love of what 
we possess, greediness after more, repining at provi- 
dences and grieving at our neighbours' good. All 
these things have been noticed in previous pages of 
this book. 

The great requisition of this command is fervent 
love, charity out of a pure heart towards our neigh- 
bour. This excellent grace is so fully explained in 
the New Testament, and especially by Paul in the 13th 
chapter of 1 Corinthians, and we have so many good 
popular treatises upon it, that the reader's time and 
attention will not be asked any longer to this subject. 




598 



HOW MAY WE KNOW OUR SINS? 



CHAPTER XXV. 
HOW MAY WE KNOW OUR SINS? 

ONE of the most difficult attainments is such a know- 
ledge of our own defects, errors and sins as shall 
lead us to right apprehensions of Christ and his salva- 
tion. Self-delusion is natural to man. He is wedded 
to self-righteousness. He naturally denies the charge 
of guilt. Like the Jews of old, men cry out, "What 
have we spoken and done so much against thee ?" 
Even those who are somewhat enlightened from above, 
when they fall into error, are ready to say, " We are 
rich and increased in goods and have need of nothing," 
while they are poor, and miserable, and blind and 
naked. This self-justifying spirit keeps men from a 
knowledge of sin and from accepting Christ. It 
destroys tens of thousands. Those who indulge it re- 
ject mercy because they do not feel any need of 
mercy. Benjamin and all his brethren declared that 
none of them had the silver cup. They thought they 
were telling the truth. But they had not looked to 
see whether they had it or not. When they searched, 
they found it right in the mouth of Benjamin's sack. 
So if men would honestly search their lives and hearts 
by the light of the law, they would find out that they 
were undone, - "By the law is the knowledge of sin." 



HOW MAY WE KNOW OUK SINS? 599 

Take these rules for knowing your own hearts. 
1. Diligently compare them with the law of God. 
Study the letter of the law. Acquire a knowledge of 
its true spirit and scope. Let it be your daily busi- 
ness to go through the dark chambers of the soul with 
these ten lighted candles and see what is wrong. 

2. Consider what your friends say of you. It is 
a pity that some convert a friend into a foe if he sug- 
gests that they are in error. Such must be let alone. 
They will probably work out their own destruction 
with greediness. When one is disposed to seek the 
truth, however, he may get useful hints and sugges- 
tions from pious and judicious friends. Ps. cxli. 5. 
And as friends are prejudiced in our favour, we may 
give full credit to what they say, unless we have posi- 
tive proof that they are mistaken. David was bound 
to receive Nathan's reproof. Peter would have acted 
foolishly, if he had flared up against Paul for reprov- 
ing him. 

3. Weigh well what those say who are unfriendly 
to you. "It is lawful to learn from an enemy." 
Bitter enemies sometimes fabricate statements and 
frequently exaggerate and misrepresent. Sometimes 
they nearly hit the nail on the head, and sometimes 
they tell the plain truth, which others are afraid to 
speak. A shrewd enemy commonly attacks the weak 
points of character. What do your enemies say of 
you ? Do they charge you with pride, or malignity, 
or covetousness, or vanity, or ingratitude, or hardness 
of heart ? Improve what they say. 

4. Observe what that is which always comes to 
your mind when inclined to pensiveness or melancholy. 
Some indeed are so beset with a sense of guilt that 



600 HOW MAY WE KNOW OUR SINS? 

they dare not reflect. They fly from scene to scene 
and from place to place. They avoid solitude, and 
seek merriment that their own thoughts may not 
disturb their peace. But even in the midst of laugh- 
ter, their heart is sad. If they would sit alone, and 
keep silence, and not call off their minds from sober f 
reflection, they would soon get a profitable insight 
into their defects. 

5. Notice your thoughts when you are sick or in peril 
of death. At such times the mind sometimes gets a 
ready insight into personal faults. Men generally are 
more disposed to be honest when they feel that their 
life is in danger. How did you regard your moral 
character when you were sick? Did no ghost of sin 
present itself to your view ? Probably your alarm was 
well founded. 

6. When you are in distress and inclined to think 
your affliction a judgment or a punishment for some 
sin, you may be pretty sure that there is guilt in that 
affair. When the web of distress had perfectly en- 
tangled the sons of Jacob, and one calamity but 
opened the door for another, they well said, " We are 
verily guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw 
the anguish of his soul, when he besought us, and we 
would not hear ; therefore is this distress come upon 
us." And afterwards when in still greater distress, 
Judah as a mouth for the rest, said, " How shall we 
clear ourselves ! God hath found out the iniquity of 
thy servants." Gen. xlii. 21, xliv. 16. So if you 
suspect that any distress is come on you for any par- 
ticular sin, you may be quite sure that guilt attaches to 
you in that transaction. 

7. When you suppose a preacher is personal, it is 



HOW MAY WE KNOW OUR SINS? 



601 



pretty good evidence that you are guilty. No right- 
minded man under the influence of Christian feelings 
will hold up personal character to the scorn of an 
audience. Therefore if any thing seems especially to 
suit you, do not be offended ; do not refuse to listen to 
the voice of warning. The fact that it suits you is 
reason enough for letting it come with all its force and 
edge. 

8. When you are afraid that others suspect you of 
a sin, though they have said nothing, it is pretty good 
evidence that you are guilty. In their conversation 
some men are always fending and defending them- 
selves. They feel that their conduct is liable to 
serious reprehension, and the chief aim of their lives 
is to keep others from finding them out. Why is this, 
if they are innocent ? 

9. When you do not like to hear a particular sin 
preached against, you may suspect that you are 
guilty of it. If it were chargeable only to others, 
you would probably not care how much it was re- 
proved. The wicked themselves seldom object to re- 
bukes administered to their neighbours. 

10. When in conversation, a sin is spoken of and 
you would gladly change the subject, you are proba- 
bly guilty on that point. When Paul reasoned of 
temperance, righteousness and judgment to come, 
Felix told him that he would hear him at another 
time. When Christ charged the woman of Samaria 
with wickedness in her marital relations, she immedi- 
ately called his attention to an old controversy be- 
tween the Jews and Samaritans. 

11. When a sin is mentioned in general terms of 
disapprobation, and you begin to excuse it, or try to 

51 



602 



HOW MAY WE KNOW OUR SINS? 



make it appear small, then probably you are guilty 
in that matter. 

12. So when in pleading exemption from any fault, 
you lose your temper and fall into passion, you are 
hardly innocent. Thus Hazael seems to have been 
quite vexed with the prophet. He said, " Is thy ser- 
vant a dog, that he should do this great wickedness V 
Yet as soon as he had the opportunity, he did it all. 
He knew not the depths of iniquity in his own 
heart. 

13. When one is so sure. of his innocence that he 
will not examine his own heart, he may be sure there 
is sin there. He is afraid to look, lest he should see 
frightful sights in his own bosom. His persuasions 
of innocence are not well founded, and he suspects as 
much. 

14. We are guilty of a sin, when the prevailing 
tendency of our mind is towards that conclusion. Sus- 
picion of guilt ought to awaken and alarm us, 1 John 
iii. 21. 

15. We are chargeable with all the sins which the 
Bible imputes to the same class, to which we belong. 
If we are unconverted, then all that God's word al- 
leges against such lies against us — as unbelief, im- 
penitence, forgetfulness of God, enmity against the 
Most High, blindness of mind, ingratitude, destitu- 
tion of holiness, &c. 

Any right view of our case will make us see that 
we are undone. One who had studied the law with 
some care might use this soliloquy : 

I am sick. 0, I am very sick. I am sick at my 
very heart. I know I am sick. God's word says so. 
My own feelings declare as much. I have pain, and 



HOW MAY WE KNOW OUR SINS ? 603 

fever, and delirium, and restlessness, just like a mad- 
man. I am wretched. There is no soundness in me. 
There is a rottenness in my bones. Without relief I 
must die. Cannot I be saved ? Must I linger on a 
while and then perish ? Blessed be God, I need not 
die. There is a Physician. His name is J esus Christ. 
He is able. He is willing. He is full of grace and 
truth. He is just such a friend as I need. Let us 
see. 

He is very skilful. He never mistakes symptoms. 
He knows the malignancy of diseases. Flattering 
appearances never deceive him. He knows the dif- 
ference between depression of spirits and a penitent 
heart ; between natural frankness and godly sincer- 
ity ; between the humility of Ahab and that of Paul ; 
between the repentance of Judas and that of Peter. 
His skill is divine, because He is divine. He knows 
my case perfectly, because he knows all things per- 
fectly. My case is not hidden from him in any par- 
ticular. 

He knows the remedies I need. He knows I can- 
not be sound without his blood and righteousness, his 
word and Spirit, his grace and power. If He will but 
undertake my case, I am sure it will be treated aright. 
I shall never perish, if I make Him my Physician. 

He has been chosen of God ; appointed and or- 
dained to this very work. Whatever He has done 
has been by the choice and commandment of his Fa- 
ther. He was approved of God in all he did and in 
all he suffered. He had greater witness than that of 
John, for there came a voice from the excellent glory, 
saying: " This is my beloved Son; hear ye Him ;" 
and the works which the Father gave Him to finish, 



604 



HOW MAY WE KNOW OUR SINS ? 



the same did bear witness of Him. He was no im- 
postor, or vain pretender. The seal of God was on 
His commission. 

The great Physician is also very tender and loving. 
He was once hit by the archers himself. One object 
of his incarnation was that he might be a merciful 
and kind Saviour, and sympathize with us in all 
things. He was tempted as we are. He is the most 
gentle and most approachable being that ever walked 
this earth. He was often reviled, but he never re- 
sented it. He suffered, but he never threatened. He 
was mocked, but he never showed bitterness. 

The great Physician cured the first case He ever 
undertook, and He has had great experience since. 
He has cured millions. The realms of glory are filled 
with the wonders of mercy which He has wrought. 
He never wounds where cordials are called for. He 
never heals slightly the hurt of his people. He 
probes deeply every imposthume. He loves his peo- 
ple too well to let them die rather than cut off the 
gangrene. He gives wine and oil to the faint and 
wounded. He gives no peace to those who add drunk- 
enness to thirst. 

To the truly penitent and godly Jesus is very ten- 
der and gracious. He never breaks the bruised reed, 
nor will he quench the smoking flax. He also goes 
where He is most needed and sought unto. Our pov- 
erty is nothing, for He does all without money and 
without price. Our wretchedness is nothing, for the 
first word of his ministry was, Blessed. Our unwor- 
thiness is nothing, for His merits are infinite. Our 
necessities may be great, but His riches are unsearch- 
able. 0 wondrous Physician ! To thee I submit my 



HOW MAY WE KNOW OUR SINS? 



605 



case, my whole case. I know nothing. I reserve 
nothing. I deserve nothing. I am nothing but a 
poor lost sinner. Unless Thon undertake, I shall be 
for ever undone. Saviour, be patient with me. Spare 
me. Heal my diseases. Then will I give thee glory 
for ever, and spread thy fame through heaven and 
earth. 

51 * 



606 , CHRISTIAN LIBERTY. 



CHAPTER XXVI. 
CHRISTIAN LIBERTY. 

FEW things are more commended or less under- 
stood than Christian liberty. Most men praise 
it ; not many maintain it. The vile Antinomian 
boasts of it, and casts off the cords of the moral law. 
The bigot praises it, and counts you a fool because 
you do not adopt his whims. The superstitious lauds 
it, and makes himself a slave of some imposture. The 
openly profane struts, and swaggers, and is the ser- 
vant of corruption. 

What then is Christian liberty ? The comfort and 
usefulness of many are destroyed by not understand- 
ing this matter. 

1. The first element of Christian liberty is freedom 
from the ceremonial law of Moses. At this time the 
Christian world is undivided respecting this matter. 
This was not always so. The apostles had much trou- 
ble, and even Peter was involved in dissimulation on 
the subject. 

2. Believers are free from the moral law as a cove- 
nant of works. " Ye are not under the law, but un- 
der grace," Rom. vi. 14. " Ye are become dead to 
the law by the body of Christ," Rom. vii. 4. 

3. God's people are free from the penalty of the 



CHRISTIAN LIBERTY. 



607 



moral law which we have all broken. " Christ hath 
redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a 
curse for us," Gal. iii. 13. The Judge himself, by 
his own most precious blood, has opened the prison 
doors, and said to the prisoners, Go free. 

4. Christ sets his people free from the torments of 
a guilty conscience. They are not crushed with a 
sense of terrible condemnation. He, who has a fear- 
ful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, is 
indeed in a sad plight. He has a hell upon earth. 
But the blood of Jesus Christ speaks as perfect peace 
to the conscience as it does at the throne of God. 

5. Christ sets his people free from the reigning 
power of sin. The unconverted are the slaves of lust, 
of pride, of malice and of all iniquity. They are 
led captive by the devil at his will. But to his peo- 
ple, Christ makes good the promise, " Sin shall not 
have dominion over you." He preaches deliverance 
to the captives and sets at liberty them that are 
bruised, Luke iv. 18. 

6. Christ frees his people from the evil of afflic- 
tions, though not from afflictions themselves. 

7. Jesus Christ also delivers his people, who, 
through the fear of death, were all their lifetime sub- 
ject to bondage — a dreadful bondage indeed. 

Such are the chief elements of Christian liberty 
taken in the broadest sense. But 

8. The liberty of Christians, while it makes them 
Christ's freemen, and binds them in chains of love to 
his service, delivers them from the ordinances 

AND COMMANDMENTS OF MEN IN ALL MATTERS OF FAITH, 

worship and morals. This is the sense in which the 
term Christian liberty is now most commonly used. 



608 



CHRISTIAN LIBERTY. 



If God has made no law in these matters, we can do 
as we please. If he is silent, man's word is of no 
force. 

That God has set his people free from the com- 
mandments of men in matters of faith is very evident. 
Jesus Christ alike forbade his servants to be called 
Master, or to call others Master. He expressly said 
that even the apostles should not be lords over his 
heritage. The apostles disclaimed all dominion over 
the faith of Christians. Churches have no power to 
alter, amend, enlarge, or diminish the creed given us 
in Scripture. 

Nor can any church give Scriptural authority for 
claiming the right of ordaining ceremonies, and impos- 
ing forms upon the consciences of people ; so that non- 
conformity shall be esteemed schism. If some such 
things were commended as decent or expedient, they 
might be comparatively harmless ; but when they are 
exacted, they are worse than tolerable fooleries ; they 
are engines of wickedness and cruelty. 

The same is true of morals. That, which is not 
made sin by God's word, can never become so by the 
legislation of men. That, which is not in Scripture 
prescribed as a part of duty, can never become such 
by the canons of church authorities. Sin is a viola- 
tion of the law of God, or a want of conformity to a 
divine precept. Nothing else is sin. Men have often 
forbidden what the decalogue required, and as often 
required what it forbade. 

The rules to be observed respecting all attempts to 
bind us in faith, worship or morals, by the command- 
ments of men are such as these : 

1. Never yield your liberty wherewith Christ hath 



CHRISTIAN LIBERTY. 



609 



made you free. Whether the laws of men shall be 
permitted to set aside divine statutes ought never to be 
a question among men. To oblige another, Paul 
would yield up all but his honour and his conscience ; 
but when there is an attempt to invade his rights 
under form of law, he exclaims, " I am a Roman 
citizen;" and when they put his life in jeopardy, he 
exclaims, "I appeal to Caesar." Rather than offend 
prejudices or hinder the gospel, he circumcised Timo- 
thy because of the Jews, which were in those quarters. 
Acts xvi. 3. This he did uncommanded. But when 
an attempt was made to enforce circumcision, he 
" gave place by subjection, no, not for an hour ; that 
the truth of the gospel might continue with" the 
churches. Gal. ii. 5. Wherever there is a clear at- 
tempt at domination, the rule of reason, of public 
spirit, and of Christian duty is one — Obsta principiis. 
Never yield an inch. Paul did not. Modern times 
afford no brighter example of magnanimity and resist- 
ance to lawless power than that of John Hampden. 
Of him Richard Baxter said, he " was one that friends 
and enemies acknowledged to be most eminent for 
prudence, piety, and peaceable counsels, having the 
most universal praise of any gentleman that I remem- 
ber of that age." Contrary to the constitution of 
England, Charles I. demanded an illegal tax of his 
subjects. The share of the general assessment de- 
manded of Hampden on account of some of his estates 
in Buckinghamshire was but twenty shillings. But 
" the payment of half twenty shillings, on the princi- 
ple it was demanded, would have made Hampden a 
slave," said Burke. So felt that immortal man, and 
from the first he resisted. For so doing he has ever 



610 



CHRISTIAN LIBERTY. 



since had the gratitude and admiration of all Chris- 
tian freemen. None but God knows how much the 
civil and religious liberties of mankind owe to that 
one assertion of right. For although a majority of 
the judges was against him, yet the moral effect was 
on the right side. Life is not desirable, when civil 
and religious despotism have the sway. To yield a 
point enforced by no command of God is to admit 
that there is more than one lawgiver. And to 
yield to civil wrongs, when the laws protect us, is 
to admit that the will of one man is above a free 
constitution. 

2. We must never hypocritically plead our con- 
sciences, when in fact we are governed only by preju- 
dice or passion. It is a great weakness, and a 
wickedness to raise doubts where duty is clear, or to 
wish a purpose defeated by a false plea. Let men 
never plead conscience where conscience is not in- 
volved. 

3. Let no man use his liberty for a cloak of mali- 
ciousness. 1 Pet. ii. 16. Even if we are in fact right, 
and our brethren through weakness are in error, we 
may not be reckless of their spiritual interests. We 
must love them tenderly and seek their good. 

4. Beware of lightly esteeming one, who through 
weakness does not use his liberty as he might. 
Paul gives the whole law on this subject in Rom. 
xiv. 1-4. 

5. When a thing is lawful, or when it is not for- 
bidden, and the only question relates to the expedi- 
ency of a given course, the whole decision must be 
made by every man for himself. This is clearly 
taught by Paul in Rom. xiv. 10, 12. " Why dost 



CHRISTIAN LIBERTY. 



611 



thou judge thy brother ? or why dost thou set at 
nought thy brother ? for we shall all stand before the 
judgment-seat of Christ. ... So then every one 
of us shall give account of himself to God." The spi- 
ritual despotism of modern times shows itself in no- 
thing more than in judging others, where God has 
left them free. 

This whole subject came up repeatedly in the early 
history of Christianity, and Paul then clearly marked 
the distinction between the lawful and the expedient. 
" All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not 
expedient : all things are lawful for me, but I will not 
be brought under the power of any/' "All things 
are lawful for me, but all things are not expedient : 
all things are lawful for me, but all things edify not." 
1 Cor. vi. 12, x. 23. This distinction should be pre- 
served. Considerable difficulty arose respecting things 
offered to idols. Beasts were slain, and their blood 
and fat used in idolatrous worship ; but the meat was 
sold in the market. Libations of wine were also 
offered in heathen temples, and the priests sent to the 
wine-merchant what they did not wish for their own 
use. Some contended that it was in itself lawful to 
buy and eat any meat sold in the shambles, and to 
buy and drink any wine offered for sale. Of this 
class were Paul and other strong established Chris- 
tians. But there were weak brethren who doubted 
the lawfulness of so doing. These were tempted to 
judge their stronger brethren, and their stronger breth- 
ren were tempted to despise them. Paul would not 
have the strong believe that to be wicked which was 
innocent. He would not have the strong to become 
weak. But he would not have the weak defile their 



612 



CHRISTIAN LIBERTY. 



consciences by doing anything, the lawfulness of 
which they doubted. This would be wicked. " To him 
that esteemeth any thing unclean, to him it is un- 
clean." " Whatsoever is not of faith is sin." On 
the other hand, he would not encourage any to do 
that which would harden others in sin. " All things 
indeed are pure : but it is evil for that man who eateth 
with offence. It is good neither* to eat flesh, nor to 
drink wine, nor anything whereby thy brother stum- 
bleth, or is offended, or is made weak." Rom. xiv. 
20, 21. A similar difficulty arose respecting days. 
One man esteemed one day above another ; another 
esteemed every day alike. Rom. xiv. 5. Some 
wholly rejected the Jewish holy-days, while others 
as yet held on to them. It was not wicked to observe 
them, if it was done to the Lord. The question 
whether it was expedient to observe them was left to 
each man to decide for himself. 

It is here noticeable that Paul directs us never to 
violate our consciences. If a man thinks an act 
wrong, nothing is more clear than that it is sinful for 
him to do it. To do what we are doubtful about is 
always sinful. But it is not always right to do what 
we think is right. Whatsoever is not of faith, is sin, 
but it doth not follow that whatsoever is of faith is 
holy. For Saul of Tarsus verily thought he ought 
to do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of 
Nazareth. 

While, therefore, a weak brother has no right to 
require us to adopt his notions, our love to him and 
to Christ should make us tender of his feelings, care- 
ful not to tempt him to violate his conscience, and 
anxious to edify him. Thus an effectual stop is put 



CHRISTIAN LIBERTY. 



613 



to any attempt of minority or majority, weak or 
strong, to afflict their brethren, wound their feelings, 
or defile their consciences. Terms of communion in 
the church of God are never to be made more or less 
close than Christ has made them. 
52 



614 



CONSCIENCE. 



CHAPTER XXVII. 
CONSCIENCE. 

IN morals and religion, conscience holds a promi- 
nent place. Nice and curious questions on this 
subject are unprofitable. The practical views of the 
matter are far the most important. 

The word conscience means joint or double know- 
ledge. There is a knowledge of the law, which binds 
us, and a knowledge of the fact, that we have kept 
or broken the law. For present purposes it is suffi- 
cient to say that conscience is the judgment of a man 
concerning the moral character of his thoughts, 
words and deeds. Because its decisions are accom- 
panied by peculiar sensations of approbation or re- 
morse, it is often called the moral sense. It is the 
office of conscience to judge and decide on the 
morality of all our acts. Conscience is the soul of 
man sitting in judgment upon his moral conduct, 
condemning or justifying as the case may be. The 
decisions of conscience are never theoretical but al- 
ways practical. It accuses, it excuses ; it afflicts, it 
consoles; it terrifies, it gives joy. Nothing produces 
such consternation, nothing imparts such boldness. 

As conscience determines the right or wrong of 
acts before they are committed, we speak of it as a 
light or a law. As it respects guilt or innocence in 



CONSCIENCE. 



615 



a given matter, we speak of it as a judge pronouncing, 
or a witness testifying. Its process is simple. It 
says: "The soul that sinneth it shall die." That 
is the law. "I have sinned." That is the fact. 
"I am therefore exposed to death." Or, " Thou 
shalt not covet any thing that is thy neighbour's." 
" I have coveted my neighbour's prosperity." There- 
fore I have broken the tenth commandment. 

The rule by which the conscience is to be gov- 
erned is the whole will of God, however made 
known. The heathen learn God's will by the law 
of nature. Every man knows that murder, theft and 
ingratitude are wicked. But in the Bible we have 
the whole will of God revealed for our guidance. 
There all is clear and plain. This binds the con- 
science. It obliges every one to obey its teachings. 
God alone is Lord of the conscience. He alone can 
bind it. Blindly to follow the teachings of any crea- 
ture is an act of wickedness. It is giving to a worm 
a prerogative of God. To assert a right to control 
the conscience of another, except by reason and Scrip- 
ture, is an atrocious offence. It is the foundation of 
all diabolical persecutions. In a sense conscience 
impels us to duty, that is, it is accompanied by a 
strong sense of moral obligation. Thus Paul says, 
" Woe is me if I preach not the gospel;" the mean- 
ing is, that he had so strong, so controlling a sense of 
duty that he knew he would be guilty if he kept 
silence. Conscience is a safe guide so far as it is in- 
formed of the will of God, and is not perverted by 
sin, error or ignorance. 

Whatever falls short of supreme love to God, or 
equal love to our neighbour as to ourselves, whatever 



616 



CONSCIENCE. 



violates the letter or spirit of the commandments, 
burdens an enlightened conscience. Simple questions 
of morality are easily solved. It is on complex mat- 
ters that we are most liable to err. We should there- 
fore study with docility the whole word of God, and 
impartially scrutinize our own acts, ends and motives. 
The extreme evil of an erring conscience is, that it 
always involves us in guilt. If we follow it, we sin, 
as did Saul of Tarsus in persecuting the church. If 
we violate it, we are guilty of doing what we believe 
to be wrong. An erring conscience is almost inva- 
riably the result of a gross want of the love of truth. 
If your conscience is not clear, stand still. " Happy 
is he that condemneth not himself in that thing which 
he alloweth." The great duty of those having erring 
consciences is to seek for light. 

A doubting conscience is one that is not clear re- 
specting duty. Here too we must stand still, till we 
are resolved. It may be one's duty to preach the 
gospel, but not while he prevailingly doubts his call 
to the sacred office. " He that doubteth is damned 
(guilty) if he eat." But let not one with a doubting 
conscience be idle. Let him diligently seek to know 
the will of Grod in every matter of duty. A doubting 
conscience not enlightened and not resolved is very 
apt to end in 

A scrupulous conscience. The habit of doubt- 
ing in questions of morality grows by indulgence. 
Scrupulousness is evinced by doubts in clear cases, by 
a morbid fearfulness of doing wrong, and so life is 
wasted in considering vexed and vexatious questions. 
A scrupulous conscience is like a diseased eye, which 
weeps if air, or water, or light reaches it. It is very 



CONSCIENCE. 



617 



favourable to the temptations of the devil. Hearty 
prayer, an honest search after truth, holding fast 
great principles, and an earnest performance of all 
known duties are the chief remedies for a scrupulous 
conscience. It has been found very useful also to 
abound in acts of kindness to the poor and afflicted. 
Such a conscience is well called "weak," and it will 
probably be best strengthened by vigorous exercise in 
what it admits to be plain duty. 

A conscience is said to be evil when it is guided by 
wrong principles, when it decides contrary to known 
truth, or when it is burdened with a load of guilt. 
Thus the consciences of all unregenerate men are 
greatly denied. They do not give ready and hearty 
assent to the duty of loving God supremely, and their 
neighbour as themselves. They see not the iniquity 
or the danger of rejecting the Lord Jesus Christ, 
which is the greatest sin of the impenitent in Chris- 
tian lands. Such have, indeed, misgivings, qualms, 
or even terrors, but these lead to no thorough amend- 
ment. Some consciences seem wholly blind. They 
call good evil and evil good. This darkness is fol- 
lowed by stupidity. If such hold the truth, it is in 
unrighteousness. Even the most pungent words of 
God do not properly move their affections. Their lives 
are unrestrained by the most sacred laws of Heaven. 
Their minds are inflated with delusive opinions of 
their own worth. If they have zeal in religion, it is 
not according to knowledge, or wisdom or meekness. 
Sometimes such a conscience whispers, all is not right; 
and sometimes it thunders. When a great calamity 
is feared or felt, when some truth is brought home 
with power, when death seems to be near, the anguish 
52 * 



-618 



CONSCIENCE. 



of such a conscience is often dreadful. The terrors of 
God then become consuming. 

The most usual manifestations of an evil conscience 
among reputable people in Christian communities are 
obtuseness and dulness. Convince some men that a 
course is wholly agreeable to the will of God, and you 
have in effect done nothing towards their right 
behaviour. They may go as far as Agrippa, and say, 
" Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian," or, 
like Saul, they may lift up the voice and weep and 
make some confession of sin, and then go and be as 
carnal, as sensual, as unbelieving, as abominable, yea, 
as devilish as ever. Their case is described by the 
prophet : " Moab hath been at ease from his youth, 
and he. hath settled on his lees, and hath not been 
emptied from vessel to vessel, neither hath he gone into 
captivity ; therefore his taste remained in him, and 
his scent is not changed." Jer. xlviii. 11. Carnal 
security is the ruin of most men, who lose their souls 
under the preaching of the gospel. The great source 
of such stupor is practical infidelity and the habit of 
sinning, which takes away a sense of guilt. Of all 
habits, that of sinning is the hardest to conquer. 
It is the only habit that hardens the heart. 

A seared conscience is one that can be moved by 
nothing, not even by the most atrocious sins. It is 
commonly found in those, who have been much en- 
lightened but have resisted the calls of mercy, and 
given themselves over to a wicked life. "What they 
know naturally, as brute beasts, in those things they 
corrupt themselves." He, whose conscience is seared, 
gives these signs of his sad state: he rejoices in 
iniquity; he has pleasure in others, who openly prac- 



CONSCIENCE. 



619 



tise wickedness ; he obstinately perseveres in doing 
evil, whatever may be God's dealings with him ; 
and he gives himself up to what he knows to be sins. 

An evil conscience, a conscience defiled, polluted, 
or seared, is the great source of heresy. As every 
man has a standard, he must either bring his life up 
to his standard, or bring his standard down to his 
life. The latter is much the more easy, and is there- 
fore commonly done. Of such Paul says, that having 
put away a good conscience, concerning faith they 
have made shipwreck. Their lives being wrong, 
their creed soon becomes erroneous. 

Henry Smith, a good writer who lived about the 
middle of the seventeenth century says, " There is a 
warning conscience, and a gnawing conscience. The 
warning conscience cometh before sin, and the gnaw- 
ing conscience followeth after sin. The warning 
conscience is often lulled asleep; but the gnawing 
conscience wakeneth her again. If there be any hell 
in this world, they, who feel the worm of conscience 
gnaw upon their hearts, may truly say that they have 
felt the torments of hell. Who can express that 
man's anguish but himself? Nay, what horrors are 
there which he cannot ))ut express himself ? Sorrows 
are met in his soul as at a feast; and fear, thought, 
and anguish divide his soul between them. All the 
furies of hell leap upon his heart as on a stage. 
< Thought calleth to fear ; fear whistleth to horror ; horror 
beckoneth to despair, and saith, ' Come and help me 
to torment this sinner.' One saith she cometh from 
this sin; and another saith that she cometh from that 
sin; and so he goeth through a thousand deaths, and 
yet he cannot die. Irons are laid upon his body like 



620 



CONSCIENCE. 



a prisoner. All his lights are put out at once. He 
hath no soul fit to be comforted. Thus he lies, as it 
were, upon the rack, and saith that he bears the 
world upon his shoulders, and that no man suffereth 
that which he suffereth. . So let him lie, saith God, 
without ease, until he confess and repent, and call for 
mercy." 

All this is the more striking when compared with 
A good conscience. The properties of a good con- 
science are 

1. It is enlightened. It knows the will of God, 
the entrance of whose word giveth light. A good 
conscience delights in knowing the whole mind of 
God. It hates darkness. It rejoices in the truth. 
It cometh to the light that its deeds may be reproved. 
It approves what God approves. It condemns what 
God condemns. It judges true judgment. It holds 
fast correct principles. It hates every lie. 

2. It is firm and decided. It does not waver like 
a wave of the sea. It has stability in knowledge and 
principle. To it truth is not a notion, but a law. It 
is grounded and settled in the revealed will of God. 
He, who has it, is fully persuaded in his own mind. 
He will probably yield many, of his own rights to 
serve and please others; but he will not yield a single 
claim of God. In his own cause he may show all 
amiable compliance. In his Master's cause, he dare 
not surrender any thing. 

3. So far as any conscience is good, it is also 
tender. He who possesses it is ashamed to think 
before God what he would be ashamed to speak before 
men; and to meditate before God, what he would be 
afraid to do before the world. Sibbes: "All scanda- 



CONSCIENCE. 



621 



lous breakings out are but thoughts at the first. Ill 
thoughts are as little thieves, which, creeping in at 
the window, open the door to greater; thoughts are 
seeds of actions." Thus the true Christian judges. 
No man ever had a good conscience, who did not hate 
vain thoughts, idle words, and little sins; for to a 
good man no sin is absolutely little. 

A tender conscience is distinguished from a scru- 
pulous conscience in this ; that the former makes no 
difficulties where God makes none ; whereas the latter 
perplexes itself with needless refinements and endless 
questions. An eye may be tender and delicate, may 
be stimulated by the least light, may perceive the 
nicest shades and faintest lines in a picture. This is 
a good eye. But to have an eye that is pained at the 
least light, or confused with much light so as not dis- 
tinctly to see anything, is to have the visual organ in 
an unhealthy state. A good conscience is not a dull 
and stupid thing, but it is wakeful and lively. It has 
a ready perception, is of quick understanding, and 
the more plainly it sees the path of duty, the better 
it is pleased. 

4. A good conscience is guileless and simple. It 
seeks not pretences, excuses and subterfuges. It 
abhors cunning, craftiness and delusive refinements. 
It delights in " simplicity and godly sincerity." It 
is not governed by " fleshly wisdom." It is fair, can- 
did and truthful. To it subtilty and artifice are re- 
volting. Wherever such a conscience is found, it is 
proof of a great change of character, for by nature 
the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately 
wicked. There never was sin without guile. The 
greater the sin, the more the deceit. 



622 



CONSCIENCE. 



5. A good conscience is accompanied by the spirit 
of obedience. " We trust we have a good conscience, 
in all things willing to live honestly." Heb. xiii. 18. 
Where there are not right dispositions, honest inten- 
tions to do the will of God, there cannot be a good 
conscience. Wrong affections will soon disorder any 
conscience ; and how can any conscience be good, if it 
has not power to direct the life and control the heart ? 

6. No conscience is good till it is sprinkled with 
the blood of Christ. It draws its sweetness from the 
cross of the Redeemer. A great defect of the law 
of sacrifices among the Jews was that it " could not 
make him that did the service perfect, as pertaining 
to the conscience." But "the blood of Christ, who 
through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot 
to God, purges our consciences from dead works to 
serve the living God." " Those, who are thus purified 
from guilt, have no more conscience of sin." They 
therefore " draw near with a true heart, having their 
hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and their 
bodies washed with pure water." The most en- 
lightened and burdened conscience demands no other 
atonement, no more perfect sacrifice than that of 
Christ. Its sufficiency is as completely satisfactory 
to him, who fully believes, as it is to God, whose law 
was broken. Nor can any man, with an enlightened 
mind, find ease for a troubled conscience any where 
else than in precious atoning blood. 

7. God's Spirit is also poured upon all who believe, 
and their consciences are good in a very high sense. 
Speaking of the Gentiles, Peter said : " God, which 
knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them 
the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us." Acts xv. 



CONSCIENCE. 



623 



8. To the Ephesians, Paul says : " After that ye 
believed, ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of pro- 
mise, which is the earnest of our inheritance until the 
redemption of the purchased possession, unto the 
praise of his glory." Eph. i. 13, 14. 

In accordance with these views, Leighton says, 
" That conscience alone is good which is much busied 
in self-examination, which speaks much with itself, 
and much with God. This is both the sign that it is 
good, and the means to make it better. That soul 
will doubtless be very wary in its walk, which takes 
daily account of itself, and renders up that account 
unto God. It will not live by guess, but naturally 
examine each step beforehand, because it is resolved 
to examine all after ; will consider well what it should 
do, because it means to ask over again what it hath 
done, and not only to answer itself, but to make a 
faithful report of all unto God ; to lay all before him 
continually, upon trial made ; to tell him what is in 
any measure well done, as his own work, and bless 
him for that ; and tell him, too, all the slips and mis- 
carriages of the day, as our own ; complaining of our- 
selves in his presence, and still entreating free pardon, 
and more wisdom to walk more holily and exactly, 
and gaining, even by our failings, more humility and 
more watchfulness. If you would have your con- 
sciences answer well, they must inquire and question 
much beforehand. Whether is this I purpose and go 
about, agreeable to my Lord's will ? Will it please 
him? Ask that more, and regard that more, than 
this, which the most follow. Will it please or profit 
myself ? Fits that my own humour ? And examine 
not only the bulk and substance of thy ways and 



624 



CONSCIENCE. 



actions, but the manner of them, how thy heart is set. 
So, think it not enough to go to church, or to pray, 
but take heed how ye hear ; for, consider how pure 
He is, and how piercing his eye, whom thou servest." 

He who is thus has a good conscience, and in it a 
source of unfailing gladness. " This is our rejoicing, 
the testimony of our conscience, that in simplicity and 
godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom, but by the 
grace of God, we have had our conversation in the 
world." This kind of a merry heart doeth good like 
a medicine. It is a continual feast. He who has it 
has so far terminated the fearful war within his own 
heart, that he has crucified his evil passions, has en- 
throned his conscience in his own bosom, and breathes 
benevolence towards men, and piety towards God. 
He rejoices in the mighty work of grace begun in him. 
He no longer shudders at a sight of himself. His 
designs are approved by the vicegerent of God in his 
soul. Harmony reigns in his bosom. He esteems 
God his Father. He no longer trembles at the 
thought of meeting his Maker. " Quid in vita esset 
expers metus ? Bias respondit, Bona conscientia. Et 
Socrates, quaerenti quinam sine perturbatione viverent, 
regessit y Qui nullius peecati sibi conscii sunt. " The 
righteous are as bold as a lion." There is no shield 
to repel sharp arrows like that of a good conscience. 

Hie murus aheneus esto, nil conscire sibi. Hor. 

Such a good conscience will be a passport and a stay in 
the severest trials. It will disarm death of its sting. 
It will give boldness in the day of judgment. All the 
wealth, honours and pleasures of earth are not to be 
compared to it. A man may be full of them, and yet 



CONSCIENCE. 



625 



full of misery. The more he has of them, the, less 
of a man may he be. But with a good conscience a 
man is a man, yea, he is a great man under all the 
accumulated ills of life. Nothing can infect him with 
puerility or pusillanimity. 

But how different it is with the wicked. They 
"flee when no man pursueth." "They come out 
against the righteous one way, and flee before them 
seven ways." "The wicked man travaileth with 
pain all his days. ... A dreadful sound is in his 
ears. . . . He believeth not that he shall return out 
of darkness." 

" Degeneres animos timor arguit" — Virgil. 

So dreadful are the torments of an evil conscience 
that in many periods of human history, men, who 
knew not the evil of sin, have held that it was ade- 
quately punished in this life. The fears of the 
wicked, especially at times when it is peculiarly de- 
sirable to be unshaken, are oftentimes overwhelming. 

" Conscience makes cowards of us all." 

A heathen left this petition inscribed on a pillar in 
the temple of his god : " Save me from my enemies." 
One coming after him wrote : " Save me from my 
friends." It seems to have occurred to no one to 
write : " Save me from myself." Yet unless a man 
heartily offers such a prayer, and is rescued from his 
passions, his prejudices, his sinful desires, and the 
lashings of his guilty conscience, he is eternally un- 
done. " There is no peace, saith my Grod, to the 
wicked." This is true in time. It is more fearfully 
true in eternity. 



53 



626 



CONSCIENCE. 



DIRECTIONS FOR KEEPING A GOOD CONSCIENCE. 

1. Put a high value upon such a blessing. Never 
be satisfied without it. It is worth more than all the 
kingdoms of the world and the glory of them. 

2. Labour diligently to secure it. It comes not to 
the careless and indolent. Paul says: "Herein do 
I exercise myself, to have always a conscience void 
of offence toward God and toward men." 

3. Especially maintain in your heart a strong and 
constant sense of the goodness, authority, majesty, 
and holiness of God. "Be thou in the fear of the 
Lord all the day long." "The fear of the Lord is 
a fountain of life to depart from the snares of death." 
"They, that fear God least, have reason to fear him 
most." 

4. Meditate on God's law day and night. Study 
both tables with care and diligence. Let it dwell in 
you richly. 

5. Set the Lord always before you. If you can 
honour and please him, that is enough. 

6. As far- as possible avoid confusion of mind 
respecting duty. Gurnall: "There are three kinds 
of straits, wherein Satan loves to entrap the be- 
liever; nice questions, obscure Scriptures and dark 
providences." 

7. Beware of all tortuous ways of proceeding. 
When you find your course demanding cunning, be 
alarmed. Be honest and frank with yourself, with 
your neighbour, and with God. 

8. Beware of the least sins. They are the little 
foxes that spoil the tender grapes. Avoid every form 
of evil. 



CONSCIENCE. 



627 



9. Guard with all possible care against secret sins. 
You have no worse enemies. 

10. Watch against the sins of the times. If there 
is great heat in the public temper, be doubly careful 
to keep cool. If all around you are eager or violent, 
let your moderation appear. 

11. Ever watch against easily besetting sins, those 
to which your constitution, education, habits, or call- 
ing incline you. You cannot be too guarded against 
old sins. 

12. Never venture on any course of doubtful pro- 
priety. "Let every man be fully persuaded in his 
own mind." 

13. In all cases of doubt, decide against self-will, 
self-interest, and self-indulgence, against your pas- 
sions, prejudices, and even -preferences. 

14. If overtaken in a fault, do not deny it, or 
excuse it before God or man, but ingenuously confess 
and forsake it. So shall you find mercy. 

15. Fervently pray to God to keep you. Beg him 
not to take his Holy Spirit from you, and not to 
leave you to yourself. That was a good prayer of 
David: "Hold thou me up, and I shall be safe." 

16. If you strongly suspect that you are wrong, 
you probably are wrong; and if conscience is against 
you, you may know that God is also against you. 
"If our heart condemn us, God is greater than our 
heart, and knoweth all things." 

17. Be not afraid of knowing the worst of your 
case. Your discovery of your own vanity, imperfec- 
tion and nothingness, so far from being a bad sign, 
will be a token for good, if it leads you to trust wholly 
in Christ. 



628 



CONSCIENCE. 



18. Choose your company with care and in God's 
fear. " He that walketh with wise men shall be wise ; 
but the companion of fools shall be destroyed." 
Loose companions, freely chosen, will give a loose 
conscience. 

19. Die unto the world. Let its charms fade from 
your view. Freely consent to be a stranger and a 
pilgrim on the earth. Seek for heavenly-mindedness. 
Owen: "Unless we can arrive at a fixed judgment 
that all things here below are transitory and perish- 
ing, reaching only to the outward man, the body; 
and that the best of them have nothing substantial 
and abiding in them, ... it is impossible but we 
must spend our lives in fears, sorrows, and distrac- 
tion.' ' 

20. Be not faithless, but believing. Trust God in 
the darkest hour. He "will either keep his saints 
from temptations by his preventing mercy, or in 
temptations by his supporting mercy, or find a way 
for their escape from temptation by his delivering 
mercy." "He who loves you into sorrow, will love 
you through sorrow." 

21. "Resist the devil and he shall flee from you." 
Give place to him, no, not for an hour. He is 
mighty, but he is not almighty. He is cunning, but 
he has no wisdom. 

22. Beware of attempting to be wise above what is 
written, yet humbly pray to be taught up to what is 
written. 

23. In every new enterprise undertaken for God's 
glory, look out for sharp trials. "My son, if thou 
comest to serve the Lord, prepare thyself for tempta- 
tion." As our Lord himself entered on his public 



CONSCIENCE. 



629 



ministry, he had long and fearful conflicts with the 
adversary. 

24. When God is humbling you, try to humble 
yourself. "With the lowly is wisdom." "Be not 
high-minded, but fear." "He that is down needs 
fear no fall." Dyer: "He, that lives without fear, 
shall die without hope." "Pride goeth before a fall, 
and a haughty spirit before destruction." 

25. If you have a great fight of afflictions, remem- 
ber that "it is a worse sign to be without chastise- 
ment, than to be under chastisement ; and that all 
you suffer is not hell, yet it is all the hell you shall 
suffer," provided your heart is right with God. 

26. Often come to the fountain opened for sin and 
uncleanness, and wash away all guilt contracted in 
life. The blood of Christ is both the purifier and the 
preserver of a good conscience. Dyer : " Christ with 
his cross is better than the world with its crown. 
Study more how to adorn the cross than how to avoid 
it." Miller: "If God's people fall into sin, it is not 
while they are eyeing the perfection of Christ's right- 
eousness, but when they lose sight of it." 

27. Think often of death, judgment, heaven, hell, 
and eternity. Keep your latter end in view. "The 
time is short." "The Judge standeth before the 
door." 

53 * 



INDEX. 



A. 

Acts, — Wrong, 408. 
Ambition, — 399. 
Anger, — 401. 

Animals, — When they may be killed, 395. 
Antinonianism, — 

What it is, 71. 

How many kinds, 72. 

Opposed by Scripture, 74. 

Opposed by good writers, 77. 
Antitheism, — 112. 
Apostasy, — 156. 
Apparel, — For Sabbath, 340. 
Art,— The black, 156. 
Asseverations, — 28.2. 
Atheism : — 

Three kinds of it, 115. 

Causes of it, 126. 

Wicked, 127. 
Attestations, — 283. 

B. 

Backbiters, — 550. 
Bargains, — 516. 
Rule for, 519. 



632 



INDEX. 



Bartholomew's Day, — 450. 

" Before me/' — In first Commandment, 104. 

Begging, — 529. 

Benedictions, — 258. 

Blasphemy, — 262. 

Boasting, — 557. 

Borrowing, — 526. 

Bull, — In Coena Domini, 448. 

Buying and Selling, 519. 

c. 

Charms,— 156, 236. 
Cheating, — 514. 
Cheerfulness, — 164. 
Christ : — 

Sin of rejecting him, 165. 

A Physician, 603. 
Church Government and Discipline, — 228. 
Church of Bome idolatrous, — 137, 190. 

Intolerant, 446. 
Community of goods, — 535. 
Confidence, — Over, — 558. 
Conscience, — 615. 

llules for keeping a good, 626. 
Contempt, — 404. 
Corporations, — 515. 
Courage, — 417. 
Critics, — 563. 
Curiosity, — Vain, 155. 

D. 

Dangers to the Unclean, — 507. 
Debt,— 524. 

When unlawful, 521. 

Advice to men in, 524. 

And credit, 520. 
Detraction, — 555. 



INDEX. 

Discontent, — 398. 
Divorce, — 504. 
Doctrine, — False, 212. 
Doubtfulness, — 558. 
Doxologies, — 254. 
D uel, — The, 411. 

Pleas for, 415. 

Testimonies against, 419. 
Duties : — 

Of parents, 350. 

Of children, 364. 

Of masters, 371. 

Of servants, 375. 

Of magistrates, 379. 

Of people to rulers, 383. 

Of teachers and pupils, &c, 392. 

Of superiors, 392. 

Of inferiors, 393. 

Of equals, 393. 

E. 

El, — The word explained, 168. 
Elohim, — The word explained, 102. 
Embezzling, — 514. 
Engagements, — Promissory, 520. 
Enjoyment of our Goods, — 534. 
Entertainments, — Theatrical, 488. 

Tempting, 489. 

Testified against, 492. 

Dangerous to players, 501. 
Envy,— 400. 

P. 

Father, — The term explained, 349. 
Fasting,— 225. 

What it is, 226. 

How abused, 228. 



634 



INDEX. 



Feeling, — Unkind, 404. 
Flattery,— 548. 

FORGETFULNESS OF GOD, — 154. 

Forgery, — 514. 

Fortune improperly praised, — 164. 
Fretting, — 164. 
Frugality, — 530. 

G. 

Garrulity, — 544. 
Gestures, — 542. 
God :— 

We must have a, 105. 

We must have Jehovah for our, 106. 

Must be known, 107. 

Must be confessed, 107. 

Must be loved, 108. 

Must be feared, 108. 

Must be obeyed, 109. 

Must be worshipped, 109. 

Must be had exclusively, 110. 

His existence proven by consent of all nations, 118. 
His existence proven by conscience, 119. 
His existence proven by the starry heavens, 122. 
His existence proven by insects, 124. 
His existence proven by fishes and sea-monsters, 125. 
His existence proven by beasts and birds, 126. 
His existence proven by society, 126. 
His name, 237. 
How taken in vain, 238. 
When rightly used, 240. 
Greed op Land, — 535. 

H. 

Hale, Sir Matthew, — 314. 
Hard-heartedness, — 451. 
Hatred,— 402. 



INDEX, 



635 



Holiness, — Essential, 57. 
Honesty: — 

Meaning of the word, 512. 

Importance of, 513. 
Honour, — 418. 
Humour, Wit, &c, — 569. 
Hypocrisy, — 165. 

I. 

Idolatry: — 

Various kinds, 128. 
Subtil, 136. 

Absurd and criminal, 198. 

Pleas for, 210. 
Ignorance op God, — 154. 
Images : — 

Graven or carved, 190. 

Molten, 192. 

Bowing to them, 193. 

Serving them, 204. 
Impatience, — 164. 
Imprecations, — 284. 
Impressions, — Care in making, 261. 
Impurity, — 507. 
Incest, — 505. 
Ingratitude, — 404. 
Inheritance, — The best, 595. 
Insinuations, — 550. 
Intemperance, — 432. 
Intolerance and Persecution, — 442. 
Irreverence, general, 285. 

J. 

Jehovah, — The word explained, 101. 
Jesting, — 569. 
Judgments, — Rash, 566. 
Julian, — The Apostate, 157. 



636 



INDEX. 



Ii , 

Landmarks, — 535. 
Law : — 

Defined, 11. 

Ceremonial, 14. 

Judicial, 14. 

Moral, defined, 12, 15. 

Moral as given in Exodus, 16. 

Moral as given in Deuteronomy, 17. 

Moral given when, 19. 

Moral given by a fit authority, 19. 

Moral law, not advice, 20. 

Moral a transcript of God's character, 21. 

Moral given in scenes of awful grandeur, 22. 

Moral spoken and written by God, 23. 

Moral various names of, 24. 

Moral unbending, 25. 

Moral one, 25. 

Moral demands obedience to God, 26. 
Moral very broad, 27. 
Moral right, 28. 

Moral of perpetual obligation, 29. 

Moral supreme, 30. 

Moral practicable, 30. 

Moral proof of revelation, 31. 

Moral ten rules for interpreting, 32. 

Moral uses of, 39. 

Moral a rule of life, 39. 

Moral convinces of sin, 41. 

Moral restrains corruptions, 45. 

Moral quiets the afflicted, 46. 

Moral obedience to, graciously rewarded, 47. 

Moral not superseded by gospel, 81. 

Proven by Paul, 81. 

Proven by Christ, 82. 

Moral ignorance of, mischievous, 94. 



INDEX, 



Law : — (Continued.) 

Moral how made void, 95. 

Moral how divided, 97. 

Moral, preface to, 101. 
Law-suits, — 536. 
Lasciviousness, — 506. 
Liberty, — Christian, 606. 
Life : — 

Human to be guarded, 395. 

Human, low estimate of, 437. 
Lot,— The, 249. 
Lying, — 559. 

Troublesome, 560. 

Hard to be cured, 562. 

M, 

Malice,— 404. 
Man: — 

A talkative, 545. 

A discreet, 546. 
Manual : — 

The Catholic, 140. 

The Ursuline, 143, 
Marriage : — 

Its nature, 453. 

Honourable, 456. 

Assaulted, 457. 

Source of blessings, 460. 

Sometimes unhappy, 464. 

The duties of, 468. 

Commended by Calvin, 471. 

Commended by Margaret Winthrop, 472. 

Commended by John "Winthrop, 474. 

Commended by Mcintosh, 474. 

Commended by Burke, 475. 

Commended by Jeffrey, 477. 

Commended by Upshur, 480. 
54 



638 



INDEX. 



Marriage, — Commended by Solomon, 484. 
Marvellous, — A fondness for the, 556. 
Mart and others, — Idolized, 139. 
Mart,—" Glories of," 144. 
Mas-seh-chah, — 192. 
Master, — The term explained, 348. 
Maxims op Business, 522. 
Miracles, — False, 236. 
Monet, — 533. 

" Mornings among the Jesuits," — 146, 149. 
Murder,— 420. 

Causes of, 440. 

Of souls, 398. 

O. 

Oaths, — Solemn, 244. 
Obedience : — 

The nature of that required by the law, 50. 

Personal, 51. 

To something required, 52. 

Kightly intended, 52. 

Out of love, 53. 

With godly fear, 53. 

In faith, 54. 

Evangelical, 54. 

Humble, 54. 

Universal, 55. 

Perpetual, 56. 
Observances, — Superstitious, 284. 
Obtestations,-— 283. 

P. 

Palmistrt, — 156. 
Pantheism, — 113. 
Pen,— The, 541. 
Perjurt,— 266. 

Subornation of, 267. 



INDEX. 



639 



Pesel,— 191. 

Pictures in Worship,— 192. 
Plots,— Wicked, 407. 
Poor: — 

Should be charitable, 531. 

Should be cheerful, 594. 
Portraiture : — 

Of a good wife, 484. 

Of a good husband, 486. 
Poverty, — 530. 
Praise : — 

Required, 219. 

Should be frequent, 219. 

Under the gospel, 220. 

How we sin in it, 221. 
Prayer : — 

Required, 213. 

Secret and Public, 214. 

Things indifferent in, 214. 

Hindrances to, 215. 

More required, 217. 

How we sin in, 217. 

Neglect of, 536. 

The swearer's, 276. 
Pride, — 405. 
Profaneness, — 269. 
Promises, — 558. 

Promise to Good Children, — 369. 
Psalter op the Virgin, 144. 
Punishment, — Capital, 421. 
Purity, — How preserved, 508. 

Q. 

Quarrelling, — 408. 

R. 

Rabbi, — The term explained, 348. 



640 



INDEX. 



Railing, — 567. 
Rancor, — 102. 

Receiving Stolen Goods, — 514. 
Relics,— 234. 
Reproof, — 572. 
Restitution, — 528. 
Retraction, — Rare, 556. 
Revenge, — 401. 
Reviling, — 567. 
Riches : — 

Dangerous to the soul, 581. 

Increase cares, 582. 

Lead to idolatry, 584. 

Beget pride, 584. 

Beget love of the world, 585. 

Often dishonorably acquired, 587. 

Make self-denial irksome, 587, 590. 

Disincline men to religion, 588. 

Loss of, awakens rebellion, 589. 

Bring flatterers, 589. 

Deceive us, 590. 

Poor substitute for heaven, 591. 

Hoarding, 591. 
Rich, — The, may be saved, 592. 
Rising,— Early, 338. 
Robbery, — 514. 

Of God, 536. 
Rules : — 

For governing speech, 377. 

For preserving purity, 508. 

s. 

Sabbath : — 

The law of, still binding, 290. 

The law of, moral, 310. 

The law of, in decalogue, 291c 



INDEX,. 



Sabbath :— (Continued.) 

The law of, enacted with great care, 292. 
The law of, reasons contained in it, 293. 
The law of, given in Eden, 294. 
The law of, often enacted, 297. 
Observed by pious of all ages, 298. 
Prophecy requires a Christian, 302. 
A, after Christ's resurrection, 303. 
Early Christians had a, 304. 
Meaning of the term, 305. 
Change of day, 306. 
Indispensable, 308. 
When does it begin ? 309. 
The law of, forbids secular works, 316. 

sumptuous feasting, 318. 
sowing and reaping, 318. 
trading, 319. 
travelling, 319. 
worldly thoughts, 320. 
worldly conversation, 321. 
The law of, requires forethought, 324. 

private devotion, 326. 
pious speech, 327. 
family religion, 327. 
public worship, 335. 
Judgments of God in favour of the, 339. 
Sacraments, — 224. 
Salvation, — Not by our works, 63. 
Sanctuary, — Love for, 340. 
Scolding, — 568. 

Self-defence, — When lawful, 396. 
Self-righteousness, — 134. 
Self-will, — 134. 
Silence,— 543, 571. 
Slander, — 554. 

Sins, — How we may know our, 598. 
54 * 



642 



INDEX. 



Smuggling, — 516. 
Soliloquy, — 602. 
Speaking : — 

Fast, 542. 

Often, 542. 

Much, 543. 

Soon, 543. 

Loud, 545. 
Spells, — 156. 
Spira, Francis, 158. 
Spirit, Holy, — Grieving him, 165. 
Spiritualism, — 156. 
Stealing, — Always wrong, 528. 
Suicide, — Criminal, 408. 
Superstition, — 229. 
Swearing, — Reproved, 279. 
Swindling. — 514. 

T. 

Tables of the Law, — How divided, 97. 
Table op the Law,— The 2d, 343. 
Tale-bearing, — 551. 
Tale-hearing, — 553. 
Tattling, — 554. 
Temper : — 

Right, 96. 

Unforgiving, 403. 
Temunah,— 192. 

Terms, — Of 2d Commandment, 203. 
Testament, — Rhemish, 447. 
Theatre, — See "Entertainments Theatrical." 
Theft, — 514. 

Thieves, — When they may be killed, 396. 
Threatening : — 

Of 2d Commandment explained, 171. 

Of 3d Commandment explained, 286. 



INDEX. 



643 



Torture,— Self-inflicted, 236. 
Trent,— Council of, 147, 197. 
Trust, — Matters of, 525. 
Truths, — Great, 7. 
Truthfulness, — Example of, 562. 

XL 

Uncleanness, — 507. 

Rules against, 508. 
Ungodliness, — 153. 
Unmercifulness, — 402. 

V. 

Veronica, — 148. 

Visiting iniquity on Children, — 171. 
Vows,— 247. 

w 

War,— When lawful, 397. 
Whisperers, — 550. 
Witches, 156. 
Wizards, 156. 

Works. — Good, the place they occupy in the gospel, 57. 
Word : — 

Of God to be studied, 221. 

How we sin towards it, 223, 
Words : — 

Wrong, 406. 

Pure and chaste, 547. 

Scornful, 567. 
Worship : — 

Kinds of, 151. 

What it is, 184. 

Corrupted in four ways, 206. 

Must be sincere, 185. 

reverent, 185. 



644 



INDEX. 



Worship : — (Continued.) 
Must be humble, 186. 

intelligent, 186, 

spiritual, 187. 

prescribed, 187. 

believing, 187. 

through Christ, 188. 
Must not be in an unknown tongue, 231. 



THE END. 




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